The Coraline Chronicles: Book 1: Axis of Shadow
by Sonosublime
Summary: Based on the events of the movie. When Coraline escaped from the clutches of the Beldam, she felt that her life returned to 'normal'. However, a dark chain of events has already been set in motion, and whenever one door closes, another opens...
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

* * *

><p>The trees whispered in the wind as their leaves fluttered. It was a cold night, and the moon could be seen peeking out from behind a cover of dark clouds. The hill above the Pink Palace apartments was shrouded in darkness.<p>

Coraline Jones wandered up the muddy trail, wearing her yellow rain boots and hip-length yellow raincoat. Several inches of her dark pink skirt stuck out below the coat. Her bobbed blue hair shone in the moonlight.

Despite the chilly night, the peace of mind the trip would bring had spurred her into action. She smiled humourlessly as she came around a bend in the trail and started down a small slope toward an old apple orchard. She remembered being chased by a feral cat here on the day that she first moved to Ashland, Oregon.

The moon was huge tonight. Really huge – so big, in fact, that she could even see the dark spots on it. Four, to be exact.

_Wait, four dots… Just like a button…_

With mounting horror, Coraline realised that the moon did indeed look like a button – those horrible things that had haunted her nightmares for the past two months. She had awoken with a start many times after seeing two buttons staring back at her. Two black buttons that were the eyes of the Beldam, the terrible witch who had nearly trapped her forever.

_It's just my imagination. That sort of stuff only happens with the moon in the other world… In _her_ world..._

Coraline squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten before she opened them again. However, when she looked back up, the moon still resembled a button. Perhaps it was just a coincidence…?

She shook her head clear and continued on the path through the dark trees. She still found the area creepy – the way the trees seemed to stoop over the path, the abandoned cart lying off to the side, the way the dead leaves all over the ground rustled in the wind. The whole thing was creepy.

She shrugged off these counterproductive thoughts as she reached a familiar clearing and saw the ring of small mushrooms that marked the location of the Old Well. However, something was wrong. With mounting dread, she raised her flashlight and saw exactly what she had been fearing the most. The wooden cover over the well was smashed, its planks snapped and strewn all over the muddy ground, as though something trapped below them had broken its way through.

_It _can't_ be! She _can't_ have escaped!_

Coraline slowly approached the dark hole and shone her flashlight down into it, but the angle of the ground prevented her from seeing very far. She reluctantly stepped forward and aimed the light down into the well to see a glint of metal –

She screamed and dropped the flashlight when a metallic spider-like appendage leapt out of the well and grabbed her around the throat. She felt sharp stabs of pain as the needle-like points of the fingers pricked her neck. She raised her arms and grappled with the disembodied metal hand, gasping desperately for breath.

She caught a flash of movement in the well, looked down and saw them. Two black button eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, stared out at her from the darkness of the well. She tried to scream in terror once more, but could not draw enough breath. The hand around her throat pulled forward with terrible strength, forcing her forward, toward the well.

_No! Please!_

She struggled, but the hand was too strong. The waiting button eyes in the well gleamed hungrily as Coraline was haplessly pulled toward them. With a final tug of the hand, she was pulled forward into the hole.

* * *

><p>Coraline awoke with a strangled scream, her pyjamas soaked in sweat. She fumbled for the bedside light, and it took her a moment to comprehend that she was in her bedroom. She looked out the window, saw the moon and was relieved to see that it looked perfectly normal. The girl took a moment to calm her breathing and glanced at the bedside clock. Three a.m. Yet another night of sleep disturbed.<p>

Coraline fell back to the pillow with a sigh and tried to get comfortable. She felt that she should go to the sitting room downstairs and check on the seemingly innocuous little door in the wall – the mystical doorway that, in reality, led to the Beldam's world – and make sure that it was still closed.

But she was tired, and harboured a weary sense of déjà vu. Every time she had gone to check on the door in the dead of night, nothing had been wrong. It was still locked tight, and its key had been thrown down the Old Well, along with the pieces of a shattered metallic hand – the hand of the beldam that had followed her home two months ago.

She sighed and closed her eyes again, telling herself that she would check on the door tomorrow morning. It could wait until tomorrow, right?

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

This is a story I have been looking forward to writing for a while, particularly because it is a chance for me to work on my horror-writing skills, which I am still fairly new to. If anyone has any tips on how to write a good and suspenseful horror story, please comment and let me know.

I would like to extend a thank you to a number of writers (Dottie-Ditto, Marquis Carabas, Woodswolf, Tobu Ishi, RySenkari) for their excellent _Coraline_ stories. Their work has inspired me to start writing this.

This story may not follow a regular update schedule at first, as my priorities are to my other fics for now (_Left for Dead, Donkey Kong Country_). However, it will certainly not be neglected.

Also, reviews are greatly appreciated. I am always open to constructive criticism. Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 1: New Day

**Chapter**** 1: New Day**

* * *

><p>"Come on, Coraline. Say something to the camera."<p>

"_Dad!_ I'm not five anymore!"

"It doesn't matter!" Charlie Jones said from behind a large stack of pancakes, struggling not to get maple syrup on the video camera or his glasses. "It's your first day at your new school, and we have to document all momentous occasions." He shrugged. "Boss's orders."

His daughter glanced disdainfully toward the stove. "Really, Mum? That's fresh."

"Just do it, Coraline," Mel Jones sighed as she served up another pancake from the frying pan. "You'll thank us when you're older."

"Fine." The girl turned her hazel eyes back to the camera and sat in silence for a moment. "Hey Dad, let's play a game."

"Sure, I love games!" he said between a mouthful of pancakes. "What do you want to play?"

"A spelling game," Coraline said, smiling wryly. "See if you can spell 'antidisestablishmentarianism '."

"I, er, _what?_"

"Go on!" she said encouragingly.

Charlie sat in a flabbergasted silence for a moment, before switching off the camera. "You know, I think that's _plenty_ of footage for now!"

"So, are you excited about your new school?" Mel said, coming to sit down at the table.

Coraline gestured at her school uniform without a word as she got up to pour herself a glass of orange juice. The grey blazer, set over a plain white button-up blouse, and a dark navy-blue pleated skirt was not something she would wear lightly. And she even had to wear a dark green tie with it. A _tie!_

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad. You actually look very smart. I'll admit that it doesn't have the same quirky flair as your usual outfits, but not everyone is as stylish as you, Cor."

"Yeah, but now I'll blend in with everyone else. The entire school is just going to be a big grey blur of greyness."

"I've seen worse school uniforms," her father chimed in.

"And you still have your gloves," her mother pointed out.

"I doubt they'll help much," she replied.

Mel frowned when she noticed the green tights that her daughter was wearing with her black shoes. "Aren't the school tights supposed to be black?"

"Oh, these are _totally_ fine!" Coraline lied. "I even checked with Wybie."

Mel shrugged. "Okay, well you'd better get going. The bus will be coming soon."

Coraline trudged up the stairs to her room, grabbed her favourite dragonfly barrette, which went on the right side of her hair as always, and slung her pink messenger bag over her shoulder as she left the Pink Palace apartments.

She donned her new orange-green gloves to combat the chill outside, and then glanced over her shoulder quickly, before heading off toward the house of the slouchy, mop-headed weirdo she called a friend. She giggled mischievously, imagining the harsh and unusual punishments her parents would have in store for her if they found out how she was _really_ getting into town for school today.

It was a short walk to Wyborne Lovat's house, as he only lived up the road. An old, creaky house, with its light blue paint flaking off in many places, Coraline had only visited a handful of times since she moved to Oregon. The first time had been the hardest – when Wybie's grandmother, landlady of the Pink Palace apartments, had personally invited her over to tell the story of how the Beldam had stolen her twin sister many years ago.

Over a cup of tea, she recounted the tales of her struggles against the Beldam, and how her escape freed the souls of the previous children who had been trapped. Coraline would never forget the pain and hurt in the old woman's eyes, but she seemed to be put at ease knowing that her sister's soul was finally free.

"The hardest part was not knowing what happened," the old woman had said, sobbing. "Thank you… for everything…"

* * *

><p>"Hey Jonesy," a familiar voice said, breaking her out of her reverie.<p>

She looked over to see a boy around her age, with brown eyes and a mop of crazy, curly red hair that probably increased his height by several inches alone. His school uniform; consisting of a grey blazer, navy blue trousers, white button-up shirt and a green tie; was mostly covered up by his prized black fireman's coat which ended below his knees. The coat went surprisingly well with his skeleton gloves and tri-lens skull helmet.

"Isn't all that death gear against the school dress code?" Coraline said sarcastically.

"Aren't those green tights against the dress code?" Wybie retorted.

"Don't tell my mum that," she replied, smiling mischievously. "I told her that you said they're fine."

"You're framing me! Isn't that wrong?"

"I don't know _Wyborne_. You tell me."

He shrank under Coraline's glare. "Okay, okay. You all set to go?" He mounted his seemingly home-built motorbike and motioned for her to follow suit.

Man oh man… If her dad ever found out about what she was doing, he would probably throw the motorbike into the nearest dumpster. And bury said dumpster in concrete for good measure. In fact, the only reason _she_ was agreeing to ride the stupid thing is because Wybie had dared her to, after she had successfully dared him to eat a banana slug. Although it had been funny (and gross) at the time, she felt quite guilty when she read on the internet afterward that someone had actually _died_ after eating a slug. Guilt aside, she still felt that climbing onto that wheeled death-trap was hardly a fair trade-off.

"No helmet for me?" she said shyly.

"Sorry. I've been saving up my allowance for one though – if I don't buy any new parts for the bike, I might be able to afford one by next year!"

"It's alright."

"Well, okay! Hop on," Wybie said over his shoulder.

Coraline hesitantly climbed onto the seat behind him, placing her hands behind her onto the handrail behind the seat and gripping tightly. "If you crash this thing and kill us, I'll _murder_ you."

"Relax! I serviced it two weeks ago – the bike's run like a charm ever since. The engine hardly ever explodes now."

"The engine hardly ever does _what?_"

Her exclamation was drowned out by a hybrid mix of roaring and whining as the motorbike churned into action, propelling them down the road at high speed. The world flew by in a blur – the leaves of the trees and the mud on the road blended together in a whirling kaleidoscope of green, brown and grey. Fortunately, the weather forecast had stated that the clouds overhead would be parting way for a sunny afternoon. One of the quirks of Oregon: completely unpredictable weather.

The motorbike chugged along the road, and the initial misgivings Coraline had about the ride drifted away like leaves in the wind. It was actually pretty fun. She was starting to see why Wybie spent so much time tinkering around with the thing.

The trees whipped by and, after ten minutes of riding, gave way as the bike approached the foot of the wooded hills, and the outskirts of Ashland. Coraline had only visited the small town twice since she moved, but it was quite a pleasant little place, and there were even a couple of cobblestoned streets near the town centre, with vendors and street performers.

This would be the first time she saw her new school. Her messenger bag contained a stack of papers that her mother had instructed her to bring to the front office immediately upon her arrival, under pain of death.

"See? Not so bad, huh?" Wybie's voice cut into her thoughts, and she realised that they were approaching the school. He slowed the motorbike to a crawl, and could actually be heard over the engine now.

"Yeah," she replied. "Who knew? Riding this bike is actually kinda fun."

They both hopped off the motorbike, allowing Wybie to walk it into the school grounds. Coraline looked around, seeing throngs of students out in front of a complex of red brick structures, all dressed in the grey, white and navy-blue uniforms. A few groups of girls were talking, and two boys tossed a football back and forth. She received a few curious glances, but no one saw fit to come over and introduce themselves.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. An extremely long, dull and yawn-inducing blur. Coraline was making her way to her last class for the day when she was accosted in the hallway by a middle-aged woman with bobbed brown hair.

"The school rules state a very simple dress code," the teacher said, wasting no time on formalities.

"Oh, sorry," the girl replied. "I'm new here."

"Well, for your information, green tights are against the dress code," the woman continued, causing Coraline to roll her eyes. "Since you're new here, I'll let you off with a warning, but please make sure you wear the black tights next time."

"Okay, miss," she said to the teacher's retreating back, when she heard someone clear their throat across the corridor. She looked to see a group of girls standing there. The foremost one with straight blonde hair gave her a snide look. "Can I help you?" Coraline said sarcastically.

"Are you some sort of attention-seeker?" the girl said nastily.

"Excuse me?"

"Green tights, and those _horribly_ ugly gloves. You _are_ drawing attention to yourself, but not in a good way."

The girl's friends sniggered.

"Shut up," was all that Coraline could think of in way of a response.

The other girls simply laughed and walked away, chatting amongst themselves, leaving her feeling angry and helpless.

_'Shut up'? That's _all_ I could think of?_

Coraline stopped by her locker to pick up some books and, after a thought, pulled off her gloves. She knew it was incredibly silly – she had faced off against a monstrous spider from another world, but now she was letting some nasty bully at school get to her? But she had her insecurities like any other girl, and stowed the gloves away in the locker.

When the final bell rang for the day, Coraline practically ran out of the school, and immediately marched over to the bike racks. Wybie was already there unlocking the chain around his motorbike.

"Hey – "

"Let's go," Coraline said immediately. The day had been horrid, and she just wanted to get the heck out of there. She sat in a glum silence all the way home.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

Thank you to everyone for the kind reviews so far! Reading them makes writing this story that much more enjoyable.

EDIT: OMG double update! After posting this chapter, I just ploughed on and wrote the next one in one sitting. It was good fun to get back into the darker stuff. Enjoy, and see you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 2: Nightmare

**Chapter 2: Nightmare**

* * *

><p>Mel Jones was at her laptop, typing up articles for the garden catalogue where she and Charlie worked. She heard the front door open, and looked up to see her daughter enter the kitchen. "Hi Coraline! How was your first day…?" She abruptly put a stopper on her cheery tone when she saw the girl's expression. "…It wasn't <em>that<em> bad, was it?"

"It sure was," Coraline sighed, dropping her messenger bag on the floor and fetching herself a glass of water.

"Well, your reaction is perfectly normal after moving. Just give it some time; I'm sure it'll grow on you."

"I'll have to see it to believe it," she snorted, heading upstairs to change.

Mel frowned, disappointed to see that her daughter's day at school had not gone so well. "Just give it time, Cor!" she called after her. "I'm sure you'll make lots of new friends!"

The blue-haired girl gratefully changed out of her school uniform and into some jeans and a dark green sweater. She tiptoed carefully down the stairs, hoping to sneak out the front door, but her mother's sharp voice drifted from the kitchen.

"Make sure you come in by seven! Your father's cooking your favourite – chard."

"Oh, man!" Coraline groaned. "I thought we'd agreed that he would stop trying to poison me!"

"Very funny, miss."

She groaned again and left the house, walking down the path to the garden. Despite the grim day, she found herself smiling when she saw how well the tulips were taking to the soil. The smile quickly turned to a frown when she cast her eyes upon the beet patch that the eccentric Mr Bobinski had planted in the middle of the garden, instead of tulips. The extremely tall and bushy-moustached Russian acrobat in question was in the process of picking several of the pungent red plants for his equally bizarre diet. He turned when he heard Coraline approaching.

"Ah, Caroline! Just the girl I want to see! And how was school? Is good, yes?"

"Hi Mr B. And no, it wasn't," she replied darkly.

Mr Bobinski seemed to consider that for a moment, before tugging at his tight and seemingly perpetually stained yellow vest. "Ah, but you give it time and it get better, I'm sure."

"That's what everyone's saying," Coraline muttered. "How is the Mice Circus coming along?" she asked, deciding the Jumping Mice Circus that Mr Bobinski was supposedly training would be a much better subject. He always claimed that, when it was ready, it would be 'as amazing as him'.

"The moushkas are excellent – and nearly ready to give you special performance."

She smirked. She had been hearing that one for the past two months.

At that moment, Mr Bobinski seemed to remember something, and knelt down next to her. "Now that you mention it… The mice ask me to give you message."

Coraline froze. The jumping mice had another message for her? Could it be something to do with… '_her'_?

"They say… that wicked one no longer behind little door," the former acrobat continued. "That web extends to City of Lights…" He shrugged. "This mean anything to you?"

"It sure does," the girl replied, heaving a sigh of relief.

The last time the jumping mice had delivered her a message, it had been a disturbingly accurate warning about the little door in the sitting room. However, their latest message to her confirmed what she had been hoping – that the Beldam was no longer lurking behind the door. Coraline giggled, giddy with raw relief. She raised her arms to hug Mr Bobinski, when she realised… she was about to hug Mr Bobinski.

Instead, she flashed him a smile. "Please thank the moushkas for me, Mr B."

"Tis my pleasure, Caroline!" he replied, scooping up his beets and walking toward the external stairs that led up to his apartment. "Dasvidaniya."

Coraline felt so elated at the news, it did not even occur to her to try and correct him on her name for what must be the thousandth time. She began to work on the garden, feeling completely carefree for the first time in months.

* * *

><p>Coraline awoke in the middle of the night to strange noises downstairs. She turned on her bedside light and looked around in confusion for a moment, before sliding her legs out of bed. The floor was freezing cold, but her curiosity got the better of her. As she left her bedroom, she thought that she could smell something delicious wafting from downstairs. It was the middle of the night, and someone was cooking…? Something was definitely amiss.<p>

She warily made her way down the stairs, gripping the banister tightly. What if… the Beldam had escaped from the Other World? Would she wield the same terrifying power in the real world?

_No, that's impossible. We destroyed her hand and tossed the key down the well! There's no way she could have opened the door!_

As Coraline came to the downstairs hallway, she could see light coming from the kitchen. Spying the umbrella holder near the front door, she tiptoed past the opening. Looking in, she could see her mother's figure standing at the kitchen sink, facing away from her. A horrifying sense of déjà vu gripped her. It was exactly like the first time she had come to the Other World, and met her "Other Mother".

_What if I've somehow been dragged back…?_

She quickly grabbed an umbrella from the front door and, wielding it like a baseball bat, entered the kitchen. "Who are you?" she challenged.

"Coraline?" the figure at the sink said without turning around. "You're supposed to be in bed."

"_My_ mother doesn't cook in the middle of the night. Let me see your eyes."

"My _eyes?_ What on earth has gotten into you?" the woman said in disbelief, turning and revealing herself to be Coraline's real mum.

The plucky girl looked carefully, but her mother's eyes were perfectly normal. She allowed herself to relax, but only slightly. "What are you doing up so late?"

Mel sighed and turned back to the stove, where a bubbling pot was simmering. "Well, I got a surprise call out from the boss, and I have to go away for business. So I'm bulk-cooking you and your father's dinners for the next week."

"Since when do you go on business trips?"

"Since when do you ask so many questions?"

_Huh. That's definitely something Mum would say_, Coraline thought, seating herself at the table. It was then that she noticed the cake in the oven. "Who's the cake for?"

"You want to see it?" her mother said eagerly, slipping on an oven glove, taking it out of the oven and setting it down on the table. "It's for a friend of mine, one who I've missed _dearly_."

The girl looked down at the cake, which had sultanas embedded in the surface, arranged to spell out the words: WELCOME HOME!

Icy weights wrapped themselves around her heart. "Home?"

"That's right. It hasn't been the same around here without you, Coraline."

She looked up and stifled a scream. Her mother's face was melting away, her features distorting into a terrible white face, like cracked porcelain. Two black button eyes stared back at her, above a horrific grin, revealing gleaming teeth.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

* * *

><p>Coraline awoke with a scream, fighting against her bed-sheets. She glanced around her dark bedroom, calmed herself and listened for the sounds of footsteps, in case she had woken her parents again. There were none.<p>

Despite the news from the jumping mice earlier that day, Coraline was still having nightmares. What if they had been wrong, and the danger from the Beldam was still very real?

Without missing a beat, she lowered her feet to the cold floor and tiptoed down the stairs. The house was completely dark, but she knew exactly where she was going. The sitting room. When she arrived, she took a tentative step toward the little door, dark and silent, in the wall. Coraline knelt down and pressed a shaking hand against it for a moment, giving it a push. The door remained locked.

"You can't hurt me anymore," she whispered in the darkness. "I took away the souls in your keeping, and you have no more power."

She waited in the dark room for a while, with her palm pressed up against the door. She did not know what she was waiting for. Some kind of answer maybe? After a few minutes, she climbed to her feet and returned to bed.

It was only after she had left that the small wooden door began to glow softly at its edges and keyhole with an eerie green light.


	4. Chapter 3: Friendship

**Chapter 3: Friendship**

* * *

><p>Like the morning of the previous day, the sky over Ashland was shrouded by a pall of drab grey clouds.<p>

"So, are you gonna tell me what happened with you yesterday?" Wybie said to Coraline as they walked his motorbike through the school grounds to the bike-racks.

"What do you mean?" she said, frowning. Her nightmare, coupled with the prospect of four more days until the weekend, had left her in a rather sour mood.

"Well, I mean, you didn't say a word the entire trip home…"

"Sorry, I just had a lousy day yesterday." She headed off toward her first class for the day. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

* * *

><p>Later on, when Coraline arrived at English class, she looked across the room and caught sight of the last person in the world that she wanted to see – the nasty girl from the hallway yesterday. The blonde looked over in her direction and sneered. She scowled back and sat down in the nearest vacant desk while the teacher commenced the day's lesson.<p>

"I see you've already made friends with Holly then?"

The blue-haired girl looked back to where the voice had come from to see another student sitting at the desk behind her, with piercing blue eyes and long brown hair. Most of it was pulled back in a ponytail, but several unkempt bangs fell over the girl's petite face.

"Sorry, who?"

The brunette girl gestured across the classroom. "Holly Bower. The girl you're trying to glare to death."

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad to know she has a name," Coraline replied sarcastically, causing the other girl to smirk.

At that moment, the teacher rapped a ruler on his desk. "Eyes to the front, Caroline."

"Actually, it's Coraline," she automatically corrected, causing several students to snigger.

"My apologies," the teacher replied, not sounding apologetic at all. "Now pay attention."

As he resumed talking, Coraline glanced across the room again to see Holly smirking at her. She scowled once more before turning her attention back to the front.

* * *

><p>When class ended, Coraline was packing her gear into her bag when the brunette girl who had sat behind approached her.<p>

"Hey, sorry about getting you in trouble before," she said. "Especially with you being new and all."

"Oh, that's okay," Coraline replied. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm Miranda," the pretty girl said. "Miranda Fletcher."

"Coraline Jones," she replied, flashing a quick smile.

"That's a pretty name," Miranda said brightly. "Hey, where do you usually sit at lunch?"

"Oh, I've been sitting… outside in the courtyard." Coraline was not sure why, but she did not feel like mentioning Wybie to the brunette.

"Would you like to meet my friends for lunch?" she pressed.

Coraline grinned. "Sure! Sounds great!"

With that, the two girls practically waltzed to the cafeteria. The school was serving pasta today, and so they decided to splash out and buy some, before heading outside, where Miranda led Coraline across the crowded courtyard.

The blue-haired girl glanced over at Wybie's spot and caught his eye. 'I'll catch up with you later,' she mouthed to him.

Wybie was not sure what she was trying to say to him, but immediately understood what was going on when he saw her being led by a pretty brunette girl over to a picnic table crowded with other girls. He shrugged and turned back to his very small group of friends. He knew that Coraline would meet new people and stop hanging out with him as much eventually. He just… had not been expecting it to start happening so quickly.

* * *

><p>When school concluded, Coraline was in a much better mood than she had been the previous day. She met Wybie at his motorbike, and the two amiably chatted about doing some more exploring in the hills once they got home.<p>

"Are you going to find us more banana slugs to take pointless photos with, Why-Were-You-Born?"

"Oh yeah? Well are you gonna find more wells for us to fall down, Michigan Water Witch?"

"Us? I believe it was _you_ who nearly fell down the Old Well last time."

"Yeah, because of that creepy little metal hand!"

He regretted the words as soon as soon as he said them, and looked over guiltily at Coraline. Her mouth had fallen open in shock at the mention of the 'incident' – her torment at the hands of the Beldam. She felt tears spring to her eyes, but blinked them away. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, and the ride home seemed to take twice as long as usual.

Wybie was eager to put the situation behind him as he pulled into his driveway. "So, uh, what do you want to do?"

"I just remembered I have something that needs doing at home," Coraline said quietly. "See you later, Wybie."

As she walked away toward her house, he opened his mouth to protest, but thought better of it. _Now I've gone and done it…_

* * *

><p>When Coraline arrived home, she briskly changed out of her school uniform and into a pair of jeans and her orange and red striped sweater. Looking outside the window, she saw that the sky was mostly covered by grey and white clouds, some with an orange tinge. However, patches of pale blue sky showed, and she decided not to bother with her raincoat.<p>

The house was empty – her parents must not be home from work yet. She hurriedly pulled on her yellow rain-boots and slipped out of the house before they could appear and refuse her permission to go out. As Coraline wandered up the hill above the Pink Palace, her thoughts were a jumbled mess – happiness from meeting some nice people at school, fear of being reminded of the incident at the well, anger at Wybie's bumbling mouth.

_If only he could take a leaf from the Other Wybie's book and not talk so much –_

_Ugh_, now _she_ was letting her mind be poisoned by the Other Mother! She looked around to clear her thoughts and realised that she had been walking along the path to the Old Well without realising it. Regardless, she kept her pace and marched through the apple orchard. Upon reaching the clearing on the other side, she cast a wary eye to the tall grass surrounding her. Nothing was moving. She looked up toward the withered trees on the ridge above her. No monsters.

The wooden cover over the well was still intact. Coraline checked the dirt around it, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. There was nothing to suggest that it was anything other than a perfectly normal patch of earth. She sighed and sat down on the old tree stump next to the well, staring off into space. She and her parents were safe. The Beldam was finished. Right?

It took her a moment to realise she had burst into tears.

"I-I thought I'd find you here."

Coraline looked up to see Wybie entering the clearing. "W-What do you w-want, W-Wybie?" she asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks and glaring at him.

"…Are you okay?" he asked dumbly after standing there awkwardly for a moment.

"Oh yeah, I'm j-just _peachy!_"

"Okay, okay. Geez, no need to get mad…"

"I'm not m-mad – "

The boy interrupted her in a nervous stupor. "I-I mean, I h-hear some people cope with stuff by getting angry, but – "

_"Wyborne!"_ She furiously grabbed a handful of bark from tree stump and threw it at him, which he ducked.

Another awkward silence fell between them as they stared at each other. Wybie knelt down next to the well cover and knocked on it, as though he was testing its structural integrity. Seemingly satisfied, he sat down on the tree stump next to his friend, saying nothing.

"_You_ don't have to live in the same house as her, Wybie!" Coraline suddenly snapped. "_You_ don't have only a thin wooden door standing between you and a monster, which might or might not be dead – who knows? You don't have nightmares like I do!"

There was a short silence before he spoke up. "I do."

She looked back at him. "What?"

"I-I do have nightmares sometimes," he said, suddenly looking very self-conscious. "Of being poked in the eyes by those needle fingers of the hand. Or falling down the Old Well into the dark forever and ever."

"…Oh, Wybie, I'm so sorry. I… I didn't realise."

He shrugged. "Hey, don't worry about it. And don't worry about the Other Mother." He pointed at the cover on the well. "The key is gone. She's trapped forever. She can't hurt us anymore." He jumped when Coraline punched him lightly on the arm and giggled.

"I'm glad to have you around, Wybie."

The gloomy spell broken, the two children took to exploring the hills like they had originally planned, putting off when they would have to come home and get started on their homework. Coraline ran ecstatically through the trees – after being cooped up in a classroom all day, it was like the Shangri-La of Oregon – while Wybie trailed behind her, struggling to keep up. They taunted each other, scooped up dead leaves and twigs to throw at each other, and Wybie even had the audacity to throw a banana slug at her! Gross!

"I'm going to get you for that! You're gonna wish you were never born, Why-Were-You-Born!"

After half an hour of whirling greys, browns and greens, they both sank to the base of a tall oak tree and nestled in among its roots. They sat in silence for a few minutes as they waited for their hearts to stop racing.

Finally, Coraline turned to her friend. "You know, I'm glad I have someone like you around to talk to. Otherwise I'd probably end up as… eccentric as Ms Spink, or Ms Forcible, or Mr B."

"But I thought you said I'm crazy too," Wybie said with a small smile.

"In a good way." Without warning, she turned and slugged him on the arm. "And don't forget that _you_ called me crazy once!"

"C-Could you blame me at the time?" he grumbled, rubbing his arm. "You told me this bonkers story about the Other World. And when I looked at you weird, what did you say?"

She chuckled, and then played along. "Don't believe me? You can ask the cat!"

They both burst into laughter that echoed through the trees, not that either of them cared. There was no one around to hear them. After a while, their laughter faded away, and Wybie looked at his friend thoughtfully.

"You know, considering how weird we are, our lives have been pretty normal lately. School, new friends," he gestured at Coraline with those words. "In fact, I don't think anything evil will ever happen here again."

* * *

><p>The figure walked through the empty white space just beyond the borders of its master's domain. It came to a stop and waited patiently.<p>

Soon, a corridor began to form before it, enclosing it in a dark tunnel that stretched away into the distance. The only way to go now was forward. The orders from its master were very concise.

_Find the key. Unlock the door._

_Bring both of the children to her._


	5. Chapter 4: Two Familiar Faces

**Chapter 4: Two Familiar Faces**

* * *

><p>Returning from the woods, Coraline waved goodbye to Wybie, and then banged open the backdoor to find her mother sitting at the kitchen table like usual. "Hi Mum!"<p>

Mel looked up from the newspaper she was reading and the frown etched across her face was replaced with a smile. "I take it someone had a good day at school?"

"Cripes, Mum! It was sooooo great! I met this really nice girl called Miranda, and she introduced me to all her friends."

"I told you that you would meet lots of nice people."

Coraline smiled. It felt good to have a 'girlfriend' again. And Miranda's friends were really nice as well. It was then that she noticed the newspaper on the table. "What are you reading?"

Mel frowned again as she looked back down at the paper. "A kid has gone missing in Chicago. Vanished without a trace. I hope they find her." She spared a thought for the child's family, and for a similar case which had happened in New York only a few weeks recently. _I hope they find them both._

"Yeah, me too," Coraline replied sombrely. A dark thought in the back of her mind reminded her how close she and her parents had come to being put on the Missing Persons list.

Her father entered the kitchen to make a fresh coffee, and took the opportunity to ruffle her hair. "Hey Cor. How's my dizzy dreamer?"

"Dad!"

"Sorry," he grinned. "Oh, that cat is waiting out on the front porch. I think he wants you to feed him."

Her face lit up. "The cat! I haven't seen him for days!" She immediately rummaged through the cupboard for one of the tins of tuna that she had bought with her own pocket-money. She figured that she owed the cat _something_ after all the help he provided, when he had followed her into the Other World to help her confront the Beldam.

"That mangy animal does _not_ come inside the house, Coraline," Mel said sharply.

"Yes, mum," she replied, rolling her eyes. She had long since deduced that telling her mother she occasionally let the cat into her bedroom, to sleep at the foot of her bed, would be an extremely _bad_ idea.

"I thought that cat belonged to Wybie, anyway?" Charlie chimed in.

"He doesn't belong to either of us. He's a wild cat. But we both share around the 'honour' of feeding him."

With that, she made her way down the hallway, balancing a bowl of mashed-up tuna, and opened the front door. There, sitting on the front steps, was a scrawny black cat with large, piercing blue eyes. He looked up at Coraline and meowed contentedly.

"Hey, you," she said, setting down the bowl for it. "Haven't seen you for the last few days. Where have you been?"

There was no answer. Not that she had been expecting one – it seemed as though the cat could only speak proper English in the Other World. But she could still tell that there was much wisdom behind those eyes.

"Have you been off doing secret cat stuff?" she pressed.

The only response that she received was loud purring as the cat dug into his food. The girl shrugged and sat down on the steps, enjoying the cool breeze as evening fell. Winter was coming to an end, and the weather was gradually becoming warmer and sunnier. She smiled as she thought ahead to summer, when her two best friends from Michigan would come to visit. They were explorers like her, and she had the feeling that they would love the Pink Palace and its surrounding forestation. She was starting to like it herself.

* * *

><p>Coraline stayed up late that night finishing off the homework she had neglected when she was in the woods. The cat lay curled up on her bed, fast asleep, with the blanket thrown over him just in case Mel walked in unannounced, like mothers usually do.<p>

_Ugh, maths… When would I _ever_ have to use maths in real life…?_

After staring at the same problem for what felt like an hour, Coraline let out a frustrated sigh and went downstairs to make herself a hot chocolate. She hopped down the staircase two-at-a-time and was making her way to the kitchen when she noticed something in the dining room. There was an odd-looking object lying in the shadows near the wall. She switched on the light to get a better look and nearly screamed.

Lying slumped on its side, half-hidden behind some boxes, was a ragdoll, staring out at her with its vacant button-eyed stare. She could see its blue hair and the top of a yellow raincoat, as the ragdoll had been made to look just like her…

She collapsed to the ground, hugged her knees to her chest and covered her face, rocking in place.

A doll.

She remembered a similar doll that Wybie had once given her, which had actually been the Other Mother's spy. It was how she watched Coraline to find out what was wrong with her life, and then used this information to build the perfect trap. And it had almost succeeded.

The girl took deep gulps of air to calm herself, and then looked back at the doll –

_Where is it?_

Where the doll had been lying, there was nothing. Nothing at all. Had she been imagining the whole thing?

Coraline spent the next hour searching the entire house top-to-bottom, receiving weird looks from her parents. However, her search proved fruitless – wherever she looked, there was no ragdoll to be found. The longer she went without finding anything, the more she believed – or hoped – that she had just imagined the whole thing. After all, she had spent quite a bit of the day talking to Wybie about the… incident. Maybe her mind was still focused on Beldam-related things.

That night, she dreamed of buttons, ragdolls, spiders, and haunting laughter…


	6. Chapter 5: Butterflies and Button Eyes

**Chapter 5: Butterflies and Button Eyes**

* * *

><p>The remainder of the week passed mercifully quickly, and Coraline gradually forgot about her nightmares. She and Miranda quickly became good friends, and made plans to meet up over the weekend. When the final bell rang, the students poured out of the school, eager to start the weekend.<p>

"Wybie!"

The slouchy boy turned to see his new friend dashing out of the school toward him. "Oh, hey Coraline. You're _that_ eager to go fishing huh?" He felt the same way – their plan to take their homemade fishing rods down to a little creek they had recently discovered near his house was something he had been looking forward to all week.

"Oh, was that today?" Coraline said, frowning. "Sorry, I'll have to take a raincheck – I just came to tell you that I won't be coming home with you today. Miranda's invited me over to her house this afternoon."

"Who?"

She motioned over to a pretty brunette waiting for her by the front steps. "Her mum's going to drop me off at home, so you don't have to worry."

"Oh… okay then."

She noticed the disappointment in Wybie's voice. "I'm sorry… We can always go fishing tomorrow, if you want."

His face visibly brightened. "Okay, sounds good! I can use the time you blew me off tonight – " He dodged a punch thrown at him and continued, "– to find some bait. I'll bet Slugzilla would land us a big fish!"

She rolled her eyes. The boy's fascination with those stupid banana slugs was becoming rather worrying. Maybe he should seek professional help or something.

"Coraline, come on!" Miranda called. "My mum's here!"

"Okay, gotta go!" she said to Wybie, turning and running the other way. "I'll give you a call you later on tonight!"

"Yeah, okay…" he grumbled. "Have fun…" His words fell on deaf ears – the blue-haired girl was already halfway across the schoolyard. "Man, this stinks…" he sighed, kick-starting his motorbike and riding home sullenly.

* * *

><p>"Wyborne! Make sure you wash the dishes before you go to bed!"<p>

"Yes, Grandma!" he called back.

The sun had long gone down, and he was lounging on his bed, pretending to read an encyclopaedia entry about sea snakes for a science project. Normally he would be enthusiastic and excited to learn about a new creepy, crawly or slithery critter – the deadlier and more venomous, the better. Even the small amount of people who openly called themselves his friends thought he was weird – and they were plenty weird themselves.

But for some reason, Wybie kept finding himself inadvertently listening for the telephone. It had rung several times during the evening, and he had been disappointed each time it was not Coraline on the other line.

The sound of scratching at the window caught his attention, and he looked up to see a familiar deep blue gaze staring at him from the other side. He eagerly leapt up to open the window for his friend. The cat leapt into his arms, purring softly as he carried it over to the bed.

"Where have you been for the last few days, huh? Hiding out at Coraline's place?"

The cat simply cocked its head to one side and meowed.

"Meow to you too." The red-headed boy took that as a 'yes'. "I don't blame you, she's good fun to hang around – when she's not punching you, that is. Me, I mean." He shook his head, annoyed with the fact that he still fumbled with his speech around a cat. A _cat_. He was worse when it came to people, particularly when he was around a certain blue-haired girl.

_It's not my fault… I get distracted by her… hazel eyes, and her freckles, which are really cute –_

"What am I _doing?_" Wybie moaned. He was way too young to be thinking about this sort of stuff! Or was he…? "_Do_ I like her, Cat?" he said out loud.

The animal in question simply looked at him – with what could only be described as the cat equivalent of exasperation – before leaping past him, onto the bedroom desk and back out the window, disappearing into the night.

Wybie stared after him for a short while, before coming to a seemingly logical conclusion. "Nah, of course not. She's crazy, and angry all the time, and she's a _girl!_ That's just gross…"

* * *

><p>"Wyborne! You march yourself right here right now!"<p>

It was mid-morning of the following day, and Mrs Lovat was already on the war-path. The target of her wrath sighed and made his way to the living room, shuffling his feet the entire way.

"And pick up your feet!" his grandmother barked.

The boy groaned and entered the living room to see her waiting for him, arms folded across her chest. "What's wrong?" he asked warily.

The elderly woman waved a single sheet before her. "You call this finished?" She put on her reading glasses and squinted at the single sentence scribbled on the page. "'Sea snakes swim in the sea and eat lots of fish' is _not_ what I would call a completed project!"

The next half an hour consisted of Wybie sitting on the couch, wringing his hands nervously as her grandmother yelled at him. She finally released him to go and finish off the project properly – under pain of death – when the telephone rang.

"_About time you picked up, Why-Were-You-Born!"_ Coraline's impatient voice blared out from the speaker.

"Oh, h-hey Coraline!" he stammered. "What's up?"

_"I was just wondering if you want to come over tonight? We're going into town to get pizza and rent a movie. I even get to choose tonight. But – and this is the deal sealer – my dad won't be cooking!"_

He gave a nervous laugh at that – the first time he attended the Jones' house for dinner had also been the last. Mr Jones had attempted to make some sort of pie, but ended up serving some soggy mess with bits of pastry scattered through it.

"Sure. Tonight sounds awesome!" he replied, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.

Coraline hesitated on the other end for a moment. _"Okay then. See you at seven."_

Wybie replaced the phone in its cradle and then collapsed onto the couch with a big smile perched on his face. He could hardly wait until seven p.m. – pizza and a movie (no doubt some dark and quirky animation feature, if Coraline was choosing) were always a winning combination. But he also enjoyed spending time with the quirky girl from Michigan, whatever the activity was.

* * *

><p>"Well, that certainly was an… interesting movie," Charlie said from the couch as the end credits for Tim Burton's<em> Corpse Bride<em> rolled.

"I thought it was great!" Coraline chirped from her spot on the floor next to Wybie.

"It was strange… but I liked it," Mel said. "It was a sweet and lovely story."

"Yeah, and I'm glad that 'Lord' Barkis Bittern jerk-wad got what was coming to him."

"Okay, well it's time for you two to get to bed," Charlie said, picking the pizza box up off the floor and eagerly taking the last cold piece left.

"Ew, that's gross, Dad!"

He shrugged and took the empty box away to the kitchen while Mel stood to get ready for bed.

"You're still okay with sleeping on the couch, Wybie?"

"Uh, s-sure Mrs Jones."

She smiled at him, and then looked pointedly at her daughter. "Make sure you grab a spare blanket for him from the linen closet."

"Yes, Mum. You tell me every time," the blue-haired girl replied, rolling her eyes.

Mel smirked back, before heading off upstairs. Coraline stretched out on the floor and looked over at her friend.

"You okay, Wybie? It's uncanny – you're being almost as quiet as – " She clapped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from saying it… _The Other Wybie…_ Her eyes unwillingly flicked nervously over to the little door in the far wall of the room.

"Almost as quiet as what, Jonesy?" He looked over at her, and followed her gaze. "…You okay?"

She tore her gaze away from the door and planted a smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Coraline, I saw you glancing at that door all the way through the movie."

"Well, excuse me, Wyborne, but after what happened, I think I'm entitled to be a little uncomfortable around the door!" she snapped. An awkward silence fell over the room, and her expression softened. "I… sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it to."

"Don't worry about it," he replied, still looking at her thoughtfully. "You've never really been all that nervous around the door before though. Even after all the… evil stuff. Sometimes you were a little hesitant to come in here, but that was about it, right?"

She sighed. "Well, I mean, my nightmares haven't exactly been helping things." A passing thought was cast to the reports of the two missing children in prior weeks, and her apprehension steadily grew. "I just keep getting this feeling that something bad is happening, you know? Some dark chain of events."

"You can't spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder," Wybie offered. "The Old Well is sealed shut, and this door is locked tight." He made his way over to the little door and tugged on it, proving his point. "See?"

She smiled, trying to convince herself that she could believe him. However, the weight of uneasiness remained nestled in the back of her mind. She wished that she could take the corpse bride Emily's example, and transform into hundreds of butterflies, leaving her troubles behind.

Coraline stood and stretched her arms over her head, feeling her joints pop, before heading down the hallway to the linen closet next to the front door to fetch a spare blanket. However, when she opened it, she had to hold onto the doorframe for a full minute to prevent herself from fainting.

There, sitting patiently in the dark recesses of the closet, was a ragdoll, fashioned in her image. It looked identical to the doll that Wybie had found in his grandmother's trunk and given to her when she first moved to Oregon – blue hair, yellow raincoat and boots, and black button eyes. Coraline was beginning to hyperventilate. She put a hand over her chest and tried to steady her breathing.

A doll.

A ragdoll that looked just like her.

She had not been imagining it when she saw the doll a few nights ago…

It was the Beldam's spy. She was probably watching Coraline through the little doll's eyes right now – enjoying every moment, taking delight in her distress. The girl threw a towel over the ragdoll and wrapped it up. She had to destroy the evil little thing immediately. She rushed back into the sitting room. Wybie turned when he heard her come in, and was immediately alert when he saw the look on her face.

"What's going on?"

Coraline threw the bundle over to him without a word, and then marched over to the fireplace to grab a packet of matches her father kept behind the snow-globes on the mantelpiece.

The boy's blood chilled when he unwrapped the towel and saw the button eyes staring back at him. "Oh, c-cripes…"

Two minutes later, the two children were kneeling in front of the fireplace as a small blaze roared in the hearth and consumed the little ragdoll, twisting and crumpling it into ashes. Coraline bowed her head and closed her eyes, realising bitterly that she had been in this exact same position months ago when the Beldam stole her parents. All this time, she and her family had never been safe – not really. The Beldam never died without her. It was very much alive, and making its move.

She felt Wybie's hand on her shoulder and looked over at him, despair in her eyes. "I… I don't know what to do…"

"Me neither," he admitted.

The fire crackled as the remains of the doll burned.


	7. Chapter 6: The Uninvited

**Chapter 6: The Uninvited**

* * *

><p>Coraline refused to let Wybie sleep in the sitting room that night. The same room with the horrible little door, behind which lurked that… <em>thing<em> from her nightmares. To this end, she dragged him across the corridor toward the kitchen, where her father could still be heard washing the dishes.

"I d-don't w-want to l-leave you here alone…" The boy's nervous stutter had manifested itself more and more, in light of recent events.

"It's okay," she replied in a voice that sounded a lot braver than she felt. "I know the Beldam won't be able to do anything tonight – if she could, she would have done more than just sending a stupid little doll to keep an eye on me."

"B-But – "

"Knowing her, she's probably just trying to freak me out," Coraline cut in. She glanced over at her shoulder toward the dark sitting room and shuddered. "Trying to trick me into doing something stupid, like unlocking the door."

"B-But we can't do that anyway," Wybie pointed out. "She knows that the button key's at the bottom of the Old Well. What if she has a backup plan?"

She frowned in puzzlement.

"I'm n-not g-going anywhere," he said with all the bravado he could muster. "I'll s-stand by that door with a baseball bat all night if I have to."

"No!" she hissed back. "Do you know how much danger you'll be in?"

By that point they had reached the kitchen, and her father looked at them in surprise. "Coraline? What's going on? You two should be in bed by now."

"Um, Wybie has a… stomach ache. He needs to go home, his grandma has medicine for it," she offered lamely.

Charlie scrutinised the two children suspiciously. "He doesn't look that sick to me…"

"Oh, he's definitely _very_ sick," his daughter said, perhaps a little too forcefully. "_Aren't_ you, Wybie?"

He shook his head. "N-No, I'm perfectly fin – "

Coraline abruptly cupped both hands to her mouth and screamed, staring out the dark window with wide eyes. Charlie and Wybie both jumped in shock and looked to see what the screaming was about – during which time she used the distraction to ball her hand into a fist and sock her friend, right below the ribs. Winded, the poor boy gasped and clutched his chest, falling to his knees.

"What on _earth_ are you screaming at, Coraline?" her father demanded, turning back to face her.

"I saw a really big spider outside," she said innocently, shooting her friend an apologetic look.

"Oh my, come to think of it, you do look pretty bad, Wybie," Charlie said thoughtfully. "I'll go and call your grandmother right away." He left the room to retrieve his mobile phone from the study.

"Tha… Tha… That… was… not… cool…" Wybie gasped from the floor.

"I'm sorry," Coraline whispered. "But I can't have you anywhere near that door. Not until we figure out what to do, anyway."

"What… are we… going to… do… then?"

"I'll stay in my parent's room tonight – make sure that nothing happens to them. And then tomorrow…I'll go and see Ms Spink and Ms Forcible. When my parents were stolen by the Beldam last time, the old ladies gave me this weird seeing stone, and it actually turned out to be really useful."

Coraline recalled the way that Ms Spink had unexpectedly produced the stone – from Brighton taffy, of all things – which had helped her to find the lost souls of the Beldam's previous victims. Perhaps the elderly ladies knew more about the world of the supernatural than they let on.

"That's… not much… of a plan…" Wybie murmured, still flinching from the waves of pain rolling through his chest.

"It's all I've got at the moment."

"Come on, Wybie!" Charlie called from the front door. "I'll take you home now. Your grandmother is worried sick."

"I'll… come over… and meet you… tomorrow," Wybie said to Coraline weakly, to which she shook her head.

"No, I don't want you to get involved – "

"I _am_ involved… I'm the jerk-wad that gave you the doll, remember?" He smiled weakly, but she still looked terrified. "We'll beat this… together."

* * *

><p>The sharp metal points of the needle fingers loomed closer and closer to his eyes. Wybie cried out in fear and turned to run away, but found himself standing at the edge of the Old Well. He tried to run around it, but found that it stretched on endlessly in all directions.<p>

He fearfully looked back to see the hand coming closer and closer, growing in size, until it became a monstrous metallic spider that loomed across his field of vision. The huge beast towered over him, the point of its index finger jabbing into his throat…

* * *

><p>Wybie awoke with a start when he felt the sharp sensation of the metal finger beginning to stab into his throat. He took a deep breath and groggily became aware of his dark bedroom as the vivid imagery of his dream faded away.<p>

However, something was wrong. Although he was awake, he could still feel a sharp object being pressed against his throat…

_ Oh, no…_

"Wyborne, I presume?" came a cold, clear voice above him.

Wybie swallowed, his mouth going dry. Finding himself unable to form words, he jerkily nodded.

"Thank goodness for that," the dark figure standing over his bed said softly. "Please do me a favour and stand up."

"L-Look, we d-don't have much money – " he started to say, but cut himself short when the knife was pressed harder against his neck.

"This is not a robbery. Now stand up."

He did as he was told, climbing out of bed and facing the intruder, who seemed to appraise him for a moment. He fidgeted nervously, taking in the dark figure's appearance. It was very strange-looking – taller than him, but plump at its hands and the base of its chest, as though the person's insides were under the extreme influence of gravity. As they sized each other up, not a word was spoken.

Finally, the figure lowered the knife slightly. "I thought you'd be taller."

Wybie was taken aback. "You aren't that much taller than me," he shot back.

"Yes, but my figure can be changed and altered as Mother sees fit," the intruder replied, switching on the bedroom light.

The timid boy's breath caught in his throat. Standing before him was a ragdoll – a human-sized doll, with two black buttons for eyes, and a loosely-stitched mouth. However, aside from the eyes, there were no other features on its body. It looked almost like a ragdoll template – no clothes, no hair, its insides held together by its cloth 'skin'.

"It's rude to stare," the puppet figure said presently.

It took Wybie a moment to speak. "Y-You're a r-ragdoll. You work for the Other M-Mother, don't you? What do you want?"

The puppet gestured down at itself, its barebones face almost reflecting sadness, if such a thing was possible. "Well, as you can see, I am nothing more than a blank slate. And all the others have been making _terrible_ fun of me because of it. But if I succeed in my task, I will be given a face!" Its button eyes flashed and its mouth curled upward in glee.

"All the others…" Wybie repeated. "You mean… there are more like you?"

"Oh, yes. Mother made quite a few of us, actually. And they are waiting for us to return. So, let's go."

"How did you even get out? And how do you plan to get back? Coraline locked the door!"

"Well, how do you solve the dilemma of a locked door?" the intruder said in an amused tone. "You _unlock_ it, silly! So I'm sure you can guess where our first stop for the night is!"

"The Old Well…" Wybie murmured, his heart sinking.

The ragdoll figure nodded.

"N-No… I'll s-stop you," the boy stammered, putting on his best intimidating voice. Which was not very intimidating.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that, Wyborne," the puppet replied. "You see, the doorway I had to emerge from was a long way from here. And I cannot last much longer in this world."

It raised a hand to one of its button eyes and pulled it off with a sharp tug. From its empty eye-socket, sawdust began to trickle out, the sight of which caused Wybie to cringe. After a moment, the puppet slapped the button back on and used the thread sticking out of its head haphazardly tie it back into place.

"As you can see, my time here is not unlimited. And I am no mood to play games. So, if you do not come and help me to retrieve the key _now_, both you and Coraline will die by my hand tonight."


	8. Chapter 7: Omen over Tea

**Chapter 7: Omen over Tea**

* * *

><p>The trees whispered in the breeze as their leaves fluttered. It was a cool, grey and overcast day. The hill above the Pink Palace apartments was shrouded in the dew of the early morning.<p>

Coraline Jones wandered up the trail, wearing her yellow rain-boots, purple and grey striped tights, and hip-length yellow raincoat. Several inches of her dark pink skirt stuck out below the coat. Her bobbed blue hair swayed as she walked with grim determination.

As she came around a bend in the trail and started down a small slope toward the old apple orchard, she was abruptly hit with an unpleasant sense of déjà vu – did she not have a dream about this very journey quite recently? One which ended very, very badly?

The plucky girl ploughed on, indifferent to the chill in the morning air, or the fact that her parents would probably be quite upset at her for sneaking out – without having breakfast, or leaving a note – before they had even woken up. She made her way through the trees and came to the familiar ring of mushrooms around the Old Well. After checking the entire clearing for signs of disturbance and turning up empty-handed, she began to question what she was even doing out here. Was the key really all that important? What if there were other entrances to the Beldam's lair?

Coraline turned and made her way back toward the Pink Palace. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she did not notice a dropped black skeleton glove lying in the long grass that bordered the clearing.

* * *

><p>When Coraline returned from the hillside trail, she could see Mr Bobinski in the middle his bizarre morning exercise routine, which included (but was by no means limited to) squats on the apartment rooftop, and handstand push-ups on the handrails of the balcony outside the door to his attic apartment. At present, he was running laps around the back garden. Coraline sighed irritably and turned to go back to the house by the front entrance instead, when –<p>

"Ah, dobroe utro, Caroline! Beautiful morning, is it not?"

"Hello Mr B," she sighed as he came up beside her.

"You are up early. Come to join my exercise regime?"

"Sorry, but that's the last thing on my mind right now," she said shortly. She made to march off toward the house but, as an afterthought, turned back once more. "Oh, and by the way: tell your jumping mice that their fortune-telling abilities are slipping!"

The look that Mr Bobinski gave her made it abundantly clear how crazy he thought she was.

_Mr B thinks that _I'm_ crazy? Oh, how the tables have turned…_

Coraline glanced at her watch, as she approached the external stairs leading down to the basement apartment, to see that it nearly nine a.m. Surely the retired actresses would be awake by now. She gently rapped the drama mask doorknocker and waited patiently. An abrupt cacophony of high-pitched barking from the other side of the door startled her, like it did every time the elderly ladies' pack of Scottish Terriers heard someone at the door.

"Cease that blasted yapping at once!" came Ms Forcible's irritable voice, moments before the door opened. "Good morning, Caroline. How lovely it is to see you." The tall and plump woman was dressed in an ugly pink and green-trimmed robe. Her short white hair was still visible as she had not yet put on her flowing white wig.

"Oh, I didn't wake you, did I?" Coraline ventured cautiously.

"Oh no, of course not! Would you like to come in?"

"That would be great, thanks," she said, taking off her raincoat and wiping her boots on the doormat, before following Ms Forcible into the dim apartment. As she skirted her way around scattered wooden chairs, she noticed that there were only two small black dogs scurrying toward the tired-looking red lounge set at the far end of the room. "Where's Angus?"

"I'm afraid our little angel passed a few days ago," the old woman said regretfully, gesturing for her to sit down on the couch. "We sent him away to have him stuffed."

Coraline shivered involuntarily as she looked up at the shelves full of stuffed Scottish Terriers, all dressed in angelic robes. The two still-living ones jumped up into her lap to lick her face and she giggled, despite the horrifyingly-rude wake-up call she had received last night. The dogs' moulting fur stuck to her orange and red striped sweater.

"Make yourself at home, dear, I'll put the kettle on." Her hostess cupped a hand to her mouth. "April! We have a young visitor!"

As she bustled around in the kitchen, a short and rotund elderly woman with curled pink hair emerged from the bedroom. "Oh, how nice to see you, Caroline!"

"Still Coraline, Ms Spink," the young girl corrected out of habit. She tried to brush some of the dog fur off her sweater, only to have it stick to her skirt instead. "I'm sorry to hear about Angus," she said genuinely.

"Thank you, dear. I'm sure he's in a better place now," the former actress said, coming to sit down beside her, as Ms Forcible appeared from the kitchen and set down a tray of steaming tea cups on the coffee table. Ms Spink frowned. "I've told you countless times to bring her the oolong tea, Miriam!"

"We both know she likes jasmine better, April," her friend replied, sitting down in the armchair across from them. "Now, what brings you here, Caroline?"

The girl clasped her hands in her lap in a contemplative silence for a moment, and then lifted her gaze. "What do you two know about a Beldam?" she ventured.

The pair of old woman exchanged looks. "A 'Beldam'? I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," Ms Spink replied.

"Is your head still in dreamland?" Ms Forcible trilled, taking a sip from her cup. "Go on, drink your tea – it'll help you wake up."

"I don't have time for _tea!_" Coraline snapped. Seeing the shocked expressions on the women's faces, she realised how short she was being with everyone that morning. She supposed having a monster out to get you did not work wonders on someone's manners. "I'm sorry…" she said, taking a deep breath. "I… It's just been a long week, that's all."

"Why, yes, you've started at your new school, haven't you?" Ms Forcible said pleasantly. "Boy troubles, I assume?"

"_Boy_ troubles?" Coraline spluttered, making a face. "Yech! I'm way too young for that!"

"Ah, but you're shaping up to be a very attractive young lady, Caroline. You would do well in the acting career, let me tell you!"

Acting careers and boys… The absolute last two subjects on Coraline's mind had somehow found their way into the conversation. She sighed irritably, wondering what she was doing here. Ms Spink, on the other hand, was regarding her with a thoughtful expression. Coraline noticed and met her gaze for a moment. Finally, the old woman lifted her hands to her chubby neck, unclasped a silvery chain hanging around it, and then pressed it into Coraline's hand.

"There you go, dear."

The girl looked down at the chain in bewilderment. It was quite pretty – thin and silvery, with a small and sharp-looking spike hanging off the pendant. But she could not understand why it was being given to her. "What's this?"

"Oh, just an old necklace. I've had it for god-knows-how-long. Can't even remember where I got the darn thing. That spike pendant is pure iron, you know. And the chain itself is infused with silver."

"Well… thank you," she continued hesitantly. "But why are you giving it to me?"

"I don't know why, but I just have this… feeling that you wanted it. Or need it. But who can tell the difference these days?"

The girl glanced down at the small iron spike again, rather doubtful that a forgotten little trinket was going to be very helpful. "Couldn't you just make me one of those funny seeing rocks again?"

"I'm afraid not, sweetie," Ms Spink said mysteriously as she reached behind Coraline's head and hung the chain around the girl's neck. "You see, I sense that what you seek is not lost. Rather, it is hidden away this time round. And you will need something that is good for bad things."

Coraline stared into the old woman's eyes, wondering about the meticulous clockwork that was obviously going on behind them. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. The two retired actresses exchanged looks again – they were obviously not used to having many visitors at this time in the morning – before Ms Forcible rose to answer the door.

"Good morning, Miriam," Coraline heard her mother's breathless voice at the door. "Is Coraline here?"

_Oh, man…_ she groaned to herself, preparing for the tongue-lashing she was about to receive.

"_Coraline! _What did you think you were _doing_, sneaking out like that?" her mother said, storming into the room. However, behind her angry scowl, Coraline was surprised to see obvious relief in her face.

"Sorry, Mum, I…"

"Please promise me you'll never do that again."

She heard the worry in her mother's voice, and an unpleasant feeling began to creep into her mind. "Mum, what's going on?" she said uneasily.

Her mother gave a long look, before finally answering. "It's Wybie. He's gone missing."

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

I found this chapter a lot of fun to write. Who doesn't enjoy writing about a crazy Russian acrobat and a pair of crazy dog ladies?

Thank you everyone for the kind reviews so far. I appreciate them a lot. Please keep them coming, as well as any constructive criticism that you can provide on improving the story.


	9. Chapter 8: Full Circle: Part I

**Chapter 8: Full Circle: Part I**

* * *

><p>"Wybie's missing?" Coraline gasped, feeling her stomach plummet. "How?"<p>

"Wybie's grandmother just called us – he wasn't in his bed this morning. She's completely hysterical," her mother replied, shaking her head grimly. "Have you seen or heard from him?"

"Not since last night…"

"Oh, how dreadful!" Ms Forcible gasped.

"Come on," Mel said firmly, grabbing her daughter's hand and pulling her toward the door.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ms Spink called from behind them.

"Stay here, just in case he comes home," Mel said to them over her shoulder. They left the basement apartment and climbed the stairs to the front yard, where Coraline's father was pulling on his hat. He flashed her a reassuring look.

"Don't worry kiddo. I'm sure he's fine."

She averted her eyes, worried that she might come apart at any second.

"Your father and I going out into the woods to help Mrs Lovat look for him," Mel said softly. "Do you know of any place in particular that he might be?"

The blue-haired girl shook her head, and then looked up determinedly. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not," her mother said firmly. "We need you to stay here, in case he comes back."

"But – "

"No buts, miss! You're staying here!" The force of her tone brooked no argument, and Coraline's shoulders slumped in defeat. "We'll be back soon," Mel said, kissing her on the forehead.

* * *

><p>The anxious girl paced nervously up and down the hallway like she had been doing straight for the past hour, being far too worked up to do anything else. Her parents had been gone for over an hour, and she still had not heard anything from them. Things were a mess. Wybie was missing, and Coraline was willing to bet her entire allowance that the Other Mother had something to do with it. Things were moving faster than she had anticipated. A <em>lot<em> faster.

"Forget this!" she cried in exasperation, throwing her yellow raincoat back on. Like hell she was going to sit around and do nothing while her friend was still out there. She had already checked around the Old Well earlier that morning, but maybe she had missed something.

However, when Coraline walked past the sitting room, something caught her eye. She peered inside, and noticed that something seemed… off about the little door. She ventured slowly into the room, despite her rising panic. As she drew closer to the little door, she was able to discern exactly what she was seeing, and the implications caused her heart to leap into her throat.

The door was slightly ajar.

_Oh god oh god oh god…_

In that single horrifying moment, she knew exactly where Wybie was. He had been kidnapped – taken to the Other World. The Beldam had him. She must have found some way to retrieve the key and unlock the door.

Everyone was in terrible danger.

Coraline backed away cautiously and turned to leave the room. She screamed when she saw what was waiting behind her.

Standing in the dim hallway was a dark figure.

Its arms hung loosely by its sides as it gazed upon her. After a moment, it took a slow and deliberate step forward into the room, where the dreary light coming through the windows illuminated it fully. Coraline's heart was beating so furiously, she feared it would burst from her chest.

Staring back at her were two black button eyes. She was staring into the face of a living doll – a life-sized ragdoll that was eyeing her down hungrily. The look in its eyes was made all the more terrifying by the lack of design on the doll – its button eyes and stitched mouth were the only features on its body.

Coraline felt her mind unravelling as one variation (of many) of her worst nightmare unfolded before her very eyes.

* * *

><p>The cat jumped up to a familiar windowsill outside the Pink Palace, harbouring an unpleasant notion that something was happening in the Jones family's living room. When he peered through the window, the sight before him caused him to arch his back and hiss viscously.<p>

The Old Terror of the Pink Palace was indeed alive. One of her creations was standing on the other side of this very window, seemingly in confrontation with the girl.

The cat hissed again, turned and disappeared into the garden.

* * *

><p>Coraline slowly backed away from the living doll standing before her. Just looking at it gave her the chills – its artificial appearance, lack of features, wiry grin spreading across its stitched mouth.<p>

_Unnatural._

The previous creations of the Other Mother – copies made of her family and neighbours – had all been bright, cheery and familiar. But this… was something else. It was something that looked vaguely human – but did not at the same time. Coraline wanted nothing more than to get away from it. However, each step that she took away from the puppet brought her closer to the little door.

Some choice.

In a snap-decision, the plucky girl whirled and grabbed the fire-iron lying next to the fireplace. She turned and held it aloft, ready to defend herself. However, the puppet figure simply raised an arm and blew a handful of sparkling purple dust into her face.

She immediately felt her eyelids drooping, as drowsiness overtook her. Her vision swirled and swam, the world taking on a hideous purple hue. She struggled in panic and horror, but eventually crumbled in the iron grip of the Beldam's servant.

* * *

><p>When Coraline came to, she moaned and groggily opened her eyes. She was seated at the long dining table of her house, but something did not seem right about the room. It took her a moment to comprehend that her hands were tied behind the chair back.<p>

Her heart pounding with fear, she struggled to free her hands, but to no avail. She shook violently with panic, and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. Looking around the warmly-lit room, she realised what was so wrong – it was much too lively and well-decorated to be her house. Which meant…

"Oh god…" Coraline whispered, feeling tears spring to her eyes. _I've been dragged back to the Other World…_

The puppet servant must have carried her back through the doorway, to the twisted replica of the Pink Palace that the Beldam had created. Through the dining room windows, she could see the full moon in the sky – it was always night-time in the Other World.

The stars twinkled in the distance, beyond a faint purple hue over the horizon. The dark world outside the window, even the sky itself, looked far too vibrant and unnatural – something that Coraline was all too aware of now. A chorus of chirping cicadas could be heard.

_Only they're not cicadas,_ the girl thought furiously. _They're nothing but bags of sawdust! Fake! Just like everything else in this world!_

"Coraline, dear." A crisp voice, dripping with false honey, interrupted her thoughts. "It is _so_ good to see you."

Her heart pounding, she turned her head toward the kitchen doorway to see the avatar of her nightmares – a tall and menacing figure, with four sharp and spindly legs slipping out of the darkness of the doorway with delicate precision. Her spiderlike features gave way to a tall and almost skeletal upper body, shrouded in black and withered garb. The beast's pointed and white face, like cracked porcelain, was contorted in an unnaturally-wide smile, revealing jagged teeth. Two black button eyes glinted beneath her limp, stringy hair.

"My, my, it's been a while, hasn't it?" the Beldam continued in her patronising tone. "I was beginning to fear you had forgotten all about me." The creature's smile widened even further, if such a thing was possible. "But you're back now, and that's all that matters. Welcome home, darling."


	10. Chapter 9: Full Circle: Part II

**Chapter 9: Full Circle: Part II**

* * *

><p>"Welcome home, darling," the Beldam crooned, smiling as she looked down at Coraline.<p>

The girl's terror was beyond extreme – she was completely at the mercy of the monster of her nightmares. Only this was no nightmare.

The Beldam smirked, delighting in her captive's distress. It was the same reaction of all prey caught in a spider's web. "Sorry about the seating arrangements, but I can't have you running off in the middle of things," she purred delicately, pacing around the table and past the chair back. "I hope you aren't too uncomfortable?"

"Shut up! Shut _up!_" Coraline hissed over her shoulder, her eyes tearing up in panic. She tried to free her hands from behind her back, but could not loosen the ropes at all.

"You're a smart girl, Coraline," the Beldam continued, pacing down the length of the table to the far end of the room. The girl turned her head to see the creature straightening up a picture hanging on the wall. "You shouldn't struggle. You could cause yourself injury." Satisfied that the picture was straight, the Beldam walked around the rest of the table, finally coming to a stop across from her blue-haired captive. "Do you like what I've done with the place? I had to rebuild quite a bit of it from memory, but I think I did a pretty good job, if I say so myself."

Coraline said nothing as she glared back. Her wrists were hurting, she was tired, _scared_, and full of worry for her friend.

Her tormentor clicked her tongue, reached forward and pushed a lock of blue hair out of her eyes, causing the girl to flinch. "Of course, I was sure to make extra living arrangements for your charming little friend."

"Wybie!" she exploded. "Where is he? What did you do with him?"

"Now, now, dear. He was quite tired – the poor little thing hardly had a wink of sleep all night, so I escorted him home. He's quite alright, I assure you."

"Home? You let him back across?" she asked hopefully.

"Oh, heavens, no!" the Beldam laughed, seemingly very amused by such an impossible idea.

She had taken to tapping the needle fingers of her metallic right hand on the table, paying little heed to the scratches being left in the woodwork. It was then that Coraline noticed that the witch's left hand was missing, the arm ending in a stump. The beast followed her gaze, and held the arm out in front for her to see.

"You took a piece of me with you when you left last time. And now, thanks to you, I will always be… incomplete."

"You have always been incomplete," Coraline spat back in spite. "You kill and destroy children. You have no heart and no soul!"

"Oh, believe me, I have a heart and a soul, darling," the Beldam trilled. "You shattered both completely when you slammed the door in my face." Her smile tightened. "Still, an action is always rewarded in kind."

The girl felt a chill run down her spine at the thinly-veiled threat.

"Coraline, dear, I once told you that even the proudest spirit can be broken – with love." The witch's one good metal hand reached across the table tweaked her captive's nose. The terrified girl shivered. "Of course, there are other methods for breaking one's spirit, such as… oh, I don't know. Anguish? Despair? Physical agony? You just need to know where to apply the right pressure. And believe me, Coraline, I probably know you better than anyone else."

Nothing was said for several minutes after that – Coraline was too afraid to speak, and the Beldam was giving her a long look, as though she was trying to figure out a puzzle. Finally, she let out a long sigh.

"I really do mean it – it is so good to have you home. You always were my favourite. The other ones I took in the previous weeks just weren't as _fun_ as you, Coraline."

"What others?" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"You cut off my access to the outside world," the Beldam replied. "If I stayed, I surely would have died, alone in the endless void. Thanks to you, I was forced to… improvise."

Her unwilling guest said nothing.

"You still look confused, dear. Have you not been reading the papers?" she said smugly.

Coraline froze, her soul reeling in horror as she recalled the conversation she had had with Mr Bobinski, what felt like ages ago.

_The web extends to the City of Lights…_

Her heart sank when she realised that the jumping mice had actually been trying to give her another _warning_ – that the Beldam was extending her reach beyond Ashland. And the fact that she was indirectly responsible for the deaths of two children… Coraline was unable to control the tears welling up in her eyes and they spilled over, running down her cheeks.

The Beldam stood silently, seemingly allowing her to have her not-so-private moment of despair. For some reason, it made the fiery girl furious, and she blinked the tears away, determined not to show weakness in front of this monster. She shot the Beldam a defiant look, to which the latter smirked and continued talking.

"You have no idea of the amount of energy it takes to create a new doorway. I swear, the first doorway I created in New York just about killed me." The arachnidan figure sighed, but then smiled as some undoubtedly horrible recollection came to her. "However, I wasted no time with the child I lured in, and was… refreshed once more. The door I made after that to Chicago was much easier. Then it was just a matter of biding my time until I could retrieve the key that you and your friend – " her button eyes flashed dangerously, "– so thoughtlessly cast down the well."

"Why is the key so important?" Coraline snapped. "Why can't you just make a new doorway?"

"Well, dear, the doorway into your lovely house is the original one I made, and the only one I can keep open indefinitely." The Beldam grinned. "But, you already knew that, didn't you? For the past two months, you have been ill at ease, afraid that I might crawl out after you because, in the back of your mind, you knew that the door was never really closed. That you were never really safe."

Abruptly, she snapped her fingers and the chair vanished from beneath Coraline – vanished into thin air – sending the poor girl crashing painfully to the wooden floor. She gasped as the wind was knocked from her lungs, and then felt the tight grip of the Beldam on the crook of her arm, hauling her to her feet. She was hustled through the kitchen and out the backdoor, where the witch finally released the hold on her arm. She began to walk casually down the path toward the garden, and beckoned for Coraline to follow her.

"Shall we take a walk?" she said sweetly.

The girl sighed with rigid dejection, before falling into step beside the Beldam. For the first few minutes, neither of them spoke – the only sounds to be heard were the ambience of the night, and the clacking of the creature's metal legs. Coraline looked around at the bright and vibrant Other Pink Palace. A colourful landscape of twinkling lights stretched out to the horizon before them.

"I thought I destroyed your fancy world when I escaped last time," she finally said, scowling.

"Oh, my dear, did you really believe that this is _my_ world?" the Beldam chuckled. "No, this is merely my little corner of a much larger place."

"And what place is that?"

"Where we are goes by many names. Although I believe you humans are most familiar with 'Purgatory'. It is where my kind – and others – originates from."

"Your… kind…?" Coraline said softly. Icy weights wrapped themselves around her heart.

"Oh, yes. Other beings like me exist. Everywhere. We used to ensnare at will – openly feared and revered." The Beldam sighed, as though she were recalling some golden age in her undoubtedly long and foul life. "However, all good things must come to an end, as they did when you _humans_ – " she practically spat the word, "– began to question the natural order of things."

"What do you mean?"

"The rise of man came when warriors began to appear in your midst – priests, paladins, hunters of the supernatural, and so on…" She waved her one good hand carelessly. "My kind, and many others, was hunted to the brink of extinction."

"A shame those hunters didn't finish the job," Coraline shot back bravely, though her bound hands were shaking with fear.

"Creatures of Purgatory are survivors. There are few of us left, but we endured. As did I, after being condemned to a slow and horrible demise by _you_." Rage briefly overtook the Beldam's features, before she once again composed herself. "But you needn't fear me. I am compassionate, and merciful. There are beings far worse than me, Coraline. Far, far worse." She let the words hang in the air for a moment. Finally, she looked over the girl in question over with faux concern. "But my, you look tired, dear. I believe it's time to turn in, don't you?"

Although it had been mid-morning in the real world when she was kidnapped, Coraline did not bother to argue. Time appeared to have little meaning in the Other World – in Purgatory, where it was always night-time. She followed her hostess up to the backdoor, and was led through the kitchen to the hallway. However, instead of making a right for the staircase up to the bedrooms, she felt the Beldam's iron grip on her ear, rendering her even more powerless as she was dragged to the left.

She was being taken to the Other Mother's mirror cell. There was absolutely no attempt being made to soften the blow of the fact that she was a prisoner. The Beldam paused in front of the tall mirror hanging at the end of the hall and relished in the blue-haired girl, once again trapped and powerless in her web.

"Sleep well, dear," she said in a patronising tone, before shoving the girl unceremoniously through the mirror, the reflective surface rippling as it swallowed her.

* * *

><p>Coraline passed through the mirror and wall, and into the room behind it in a flash of green light, landing painfully on her back and scraping her arms. She rolled to her feet and desperately rushed to the wall, which was already losing its green glow that marked where she had passed through. The pounding of her rain-boots echoed throughout the bare concrete room as she kicked viscously at the wall. However, she could already tell that it was no use – the wall had resumed its solidity, and the light faded completely, leaving her in darkness.<p>

Not that she needed to see – she already knew that, apart from a rusty bed with a soaked mattress in the far corner, and other miscellaneous junk lying over the floor, the room was completely bare.

A prison cell.

Coraline's breath hitched in her throat as she waited to see whether any ghosts would appear. When the Beldam finished feeding off souls, she had displayed a habit of leaving them behind the mirror to be forgotten. However, the silence remained unbroken, and the darkness absolute. Wherever the souls of the Beldam's latest two victims were, it was apparent they were not here.

It was clear that Coraline was once again trapped and completely alone in the dark and evil room. She did not even bother to make her way over to the decrepit, rusty bed in the corner, and instead lay down on her side, curled up on the floor. As she lay there, alone in the dark, she felt the tears spill over, running down her cheeks to drip onto the cold floor.

_Oh, Wybie… I'm so sorry you got caught up in all of this…_

She closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep.


	11. Chapter 10: Darkness and Colours

**Chapter 10: Darkness and Colours**

* * *

><p>Coraline did not know when she fell asleep, or how much time had passed when she awoke, but she was startled awake by a blinding green light and a sharp ringing that echoed throughout the room. She was vaguely aware of a dull pain in her bound wrists, which shot sharply outward through the rest of her arms as she struggled to pull herself up into a sitting position to face the rippling green light in front of her.<p>

Two hands appeared through the wall, followed by the terrifyingly-familiar form of a living doll – the life-sized ragdoll that had kidnapped her from her house. In the eerie green light, its figure looked utterly grotesque. However, it was what it was holding that made her gasp in fear – a lantern in one hand, and a long-bladed knife in the other. Coraline scrambled to her feet and backed away slowly, until she felt her fingers brush up against the back wall of the room.

"Don't be afraid," the puppet figure said, advancing on her slowly.

The girl let out a choked sob of fear. The green light coming from the wall faded as the doll emerged from it completely, but the light from its lantern cast the gloomy room in a bright orange light. It continued to come forward, until it was only a few feet away from the terrified girl. There it stopped, and eyed her down in silence for a full minute.

"What are you waiting for?" she finally said, tired of all the stalling.

"For you to turn around, so I can free your hands," the puppet servant replied, tilting its head to one side in puzzlement. "Come on, hurry up! Time's a wasting, and I want my face!"

"Huh…?" was all she could manage in way of a response.

"Mother was just in the middle of giving me some clothes and features," the living doll announced proudly, gesturing down at itself. It was only then that Coraline realised that the creature was now wearing a slender orange and red striped sweater over its otherwise plain body. "However, she remembered that she still has you locked up in here, and has to feed you at some point."

The tone in its voice implied that it was highly-annoyed by the fact that the Beldam's work had been interrupted for such a trivial matter. Coraline could not stop eyeing the knife, wondering if the doll was simply going to kill her for it.

"Come on then, turn around!" it insisted. "Don't be scared – if I wanted your guts all over these walls, I could have done it already."

Although every one of the frightened girl's instincts was screaming for her not to trust the puppet servant, its child-like mannerism was in conflict with every other aspect about it. Plus its words rang true – if it wanted to kill Coraline right now, there was nothing stopping it. She slowly turned her back toward the doll, looking over her shoulder nervously. However, with a sharp slicing sound, the ropes fell away from around her wrists. She gingerly brought her numb hands back in front of her and tried to rub some feeling back into them.

"See? Nothing to be scared of," the ragdoll said, shoving the knife into a belt around its waist. It clapped its hands together excitedly and then moved off toward the far end of the room without another word. In a flash of light, it was gone. However, the wall continued to ripple in an eerie green shimmer.

"I guess it wants me to follow…" Coraline muttered to herself, smoothing her skirt and rumpled raincoat. She looked around the room quickly for some sort of weapon, eventually having to settle for a small rock lying near the bed. Taking a deep breath, she walked through the rippling wall.

She found herself standing in the dim hallway in front of the tall mirror. The puppet servant was nowhere to be seen. However, a delicious smell wafted from the kitchen. Coraline looked back at herself in the mirror, clenched her fists and made her way toward the doorway. She had to find Wybie, if nothing else.

_ Be strong, Coraline…_

She gripped the rock tightly in her hand as she entered the warm and inviting kitchen, to see the table set elaborately for one – a place for Coraline. A familiar, attractive woman dressed in a white turtleneck sweater and thin jeans flitted about the stove, humming a familiar lullaby. It was the figure of her mother, except that it was more slender and healthier-looking.

Coraline frowned. "The whole mother façade again? _Really?_"

"Good morning, dear!" the Other Mother said, bright and cheery as a tulip on the first day of spring. She turned around, her button eyes glinting in the light.

"What's your game?" the girl said through gritted teeth. "First you threaten me, and then you lock me in that… that _prison cell_ for the entire night. And now you're making me _breakfast?_"

"Oh, we all say things in anger that we don't mean," she replied lightly. "And that time behind the mirror was just a little time-out, darling. After all, you did deserve to be punished after severing my hand and leaving me to die." Her voice dripped with venom and her smile tightened momentarily, before both returned to normal. "Of course, that's all done with now. And I forgive you." She placed a plate full of bacon and eggs down on the table. "Now, wash up and eat. You must be hungry."

As she set the plate down, Coraline noticed something odd about her left hand. It was still a stump, but it was now longer.

"What's going on with your hand?"

The Other Mother held up the appendage, the smile never leaving her face. "I have you to thank, dearest. Because of what you did, I have fed more in the last two months than I have in over seventy years. I've never felt more… alive." She turned her attention back to the stove, where an omelette was sizzling in the pan. "Regeneration is one of the perks, I suppose. It's slow, but effective."

"Tell that to the kids who are now dead because of you!"

"_And_ you," the doppelganger chimed in cheerfully.

Coraline flinched, before regaining her composure. "Where are they?"

"The souls, you mean? Why would you want to bother yourself with such a morbid subject?" When the blue-haired girl did not answer, the woman sighed and turned to face her. "If you are so insistent, I could take you to them."

"I'm not going anywhere with you! Where's Wybie?"

"I told you last night – he's at home. Probably in bed. Don't make a nuisance of yourself by going to wake him. Now sit down and eat your breakfast. Afterwards, if you like, I thought maybe we could play a _game_."

Coraline shuddered as she recalled the last 'game' she had played with the witch, in a gamble for the previous victims' souls – and her freedom. The festivities had nearly involved her being eaten by vampiric Scottish Terriers, suffocated by rats, crushed to death by a tractor, and strangled by plants. She looked out the kitchen window, where the back garden shone and glistened with lights. At that moment, she felt a fit of hyperventilation coming on – she needed to get outside, to get away. To be anywhere except in the same room as this cheap parody of her mother.

"Where are you going?" the person in question called after her as she pushed open the kitchen door and stepped out into the night.

Coraline did not bother to answer, running around the house toward the road. The Beldam had mentioned that Wybie was at 'home' – no doubt she had created some bright and fake copy of his real house and imprisoned him there. Well, she was going to get him out, and then they were going to find a way out of this. No matter what.

The world was vivid and silver as the large full moon beamed down on the street. Everything was so bright and colourful and wondrous, and it made her feel sick to her stomach. The same could be said of Wybie's new house, nestled among the trees – it was no longer old and battered and rustic. The fresh blue paint and pink shutters made it look more like a doll's house than anything else. Coraline stepped up to the front porch and knocked on the door. The sound of footsteps drifted out to her, before the door opened, revealing a familiar sight.

"Hello, Coraline," a younger and sprightlier version of Wybie's grandmother said brightly. "How lovely to see you today."

"Cut it out – I want to see Wybie," the fiery girl replied flatly, her hazel eyes boring into the elderly woman's button ones.

"Oh, my word, do you speak to your mother with that mouth?"

"_She's_ not my mother, and _you're_ not Mrs Lovat!" she snapped, her patience at its end.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow a bad-tempered girl like you to see my grandson," the Other Mrs Lovat replied, clearly crossed. "Come back when you've learned some manners."

Coraline opened her mouth, but her angry retort fell on deaf ears as the door closed in her face. She stood there fuming for a moment, before walking around the house in search of an open window.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," came a familiar voice at her feet.

The girl just about jumped a mile in the air, before she realised that the owner of the voice was the black cat slinking along next to her. "Oh, thank _god_ you're here!"

"Don't thank _him_. Thank me," the cat replied. "I saw you were in trouble, and thought that you might need a hand."

"Okay, if you want to help, go tell Wybie to come and meet me outside and we can get the heck outta here."

"As I said, I think that would be a bad idea."

Coraline stopped walking and turned to face him, folding her arms across her chest. "Why?"

"She's watching the house right now," the skinny feline replied, glancing around. For the first time since she had known him, Coraline could have sworn that he looked nervous.

"Okay… well what can we do?"

"Come with me," the cat said quietly, loping off into the hills behind the bright blue house. "We need to talk."

* * *

><p>"Wyborne?" his grandmother's voice drifted from downstairs. "I've made you some lunch! Why don't you come and get it?"<p>

The boy in question paced around a bedroom that was very similar to his own, but filled with a lot more toys and posters and games. Science books, car and motorbike magazines spilled out of a bookcase in one corner. He looked at the night sky outside his window and sighed.

"Well, come on!" the voice called again.

"G-Go away!" he cried shakily. "Y-You're n-not my Grandma!"

"I've made you your favourite – PB&J!"

Wybie's stomach growled at those words. He had lost track of how long it had been since he last ate. _I'm not going to help anyone by starving myself to death…_

He reluctantly unlocked his bedroom door and trudged downstairs to the kitchen, where the button-eyed doppelganger of his grandmother smiled at him.

"I'm glad you finally decided to come down. You locked yourself away in that room of yours all night, and I was getting worried." She motioned to a large stack of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches sitting on the table, and then left the room.

Wybie slowly sat down on the chair, glanced behind him, and then greedily grabbed for the nearest sandwich. He was famished, and the food was delicious – better than anything he had ever tasted before. The crusts were even cut off – something his real grandmother never would have done. She always said that it "built character" for him to do it himself.

"Did you enjoy your lunch?" a kind, gentle voice said from the doorway when he had finished.

"Yes, Grandm – " The boy stopped himself just in time, but the old woman's eyebrows shot up in surprise regardless.

"I'm your Other Grandma, Wyborne. But you can call me Grandma if you like."

Wybie frowned but did not answer, choosing to accept a glass of milk that she offered to him instead.

"Now," the old woman said, settling herself into a chair across the table from him, "I think it's time we had a talk about that little friend of yours."

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

Holy crap, I literally just finished reading the bloody intense conclusion to _Narodnaya_ by Marquis Carabas, and was instantly inspired to continue writing this story, which now seems painfully inadequate by comparison. If you have not yet done so, I strongly encourage you to check out the _Station Sequence_, starting with _Wells Street Station_.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for the kind reviews and support so far – I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm having a blast writing it, so I guess everyone wins!


	12. Chapter 11: To Walk in the Woods

**Chapter 11: To Walk in the Woods**

* * *

><p>The trees whispered in the wind as their leaves fluttered. It was a clear night, and the large full moon cast a silver light over the Other World. The hill above the Other Pink Palace apartments was shrouded in darkness, and the ambient sounds of the night.<p>

Coraline Jones wandered up a familiar trail, as the vibrant woods slept and shivered all around her. Her bobbed blue hair and yellow raincoat shone in the pale light of the moon. As she came around a bend in the trail and started down a small slope toward the colourful apple orchard, she was taken by surprise when the cat suddenly appeared from the bushes, carrying a large rat between its teeth. She grimaced at the sight of sawdust gushing from the dead rodent's mouth.

"Her spies are everywhere, and there seem to more of them than usual," the cat said, dumping the rat's corpse on the ground. "She isn't taking any chances with you."

"Good kitty," the blue-haired girl replied, continuing on through the orchard.

The trees stooping over the path were laden with red apples, as were the baskets in the lonely and forgotten cart, still left off to the side. When she reached the clearing at the end, and saw a ring of mushrooms that marked the location of the Old Well, she was surprised.

"Huh… something's wrong. Shouldn't this be where empty part of her world is?"

"She has grown stronger, and her reach farther," the cat replied, jumping up onto the mossy tree-stump next to the well. "Her world has expanded."

Coraline did not want to think about the implications of this, regenerating hands included. "So what do we need to talk about?" she asked as she sat down beside him.

"Your soul," he replied bluntly.

"What about it?" she demanded, her tone soft and wary.

"You saw what happened to the boy's great-aunt, and the ones before her. The same thing happened to the two missing children, and it will happen to you if you stay here."

She shivered as the mental image of the ghost children manifested itself in her mind. The thought of her own soul – white, pale and transparent, with buttons for eyes – left to languish in dark places, chilled her to the bone.

"Try not to let your fear overtake you," the cat's voice cut into her reverie. "It will only make it easier for her to claim your eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul."

"What is she waiting for?" Coraline hissed. "Why doesn't she just sew buttons into my eyes and get it over with already?"

"Luckily for you, the Beldam is bound by certain rules," he replied evenly. "She cannot just take your soul by force – it would violate the laws of Purgatory, as a human soul does not exist here naturally."

"Naturally," the girl said sarcastically.

"So," the cat continued, unfazed by her reaction, "she has to have you agree to stay here, or else win the rights to your soul."

"How is she going to do that?" she asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

"By winning a game."

* * *

><p>"Coraline is a sweet little girl," Wybie's Other Grandmother said. "But her judgement of this world – of her mother, of <em>me<em> – is clouded."

"Are you saying she made all of that stuff up?" he shot back.

"Not so much 'made up' as seen not for what it is," she replied evenly. "Her mother would never want to hurt her – she loves her. And I would never want to hurt you, Wyborne."

"I… I d-don't believe you."

At those words, the old woman began to cry, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed. No tears could run from button eyes, but it was a pitiful spectacle regardless.

"I…" Wybie faltered, momentarily at a loss for words. He always hated it when he saw his grandmother cry. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry… Grandma."

She abruptly stifled her sobs and smiled back at him. "Don't apologise, dear. You were scared – baseless fears, I assure you." She wiped her button eyes dry – quite the pointless gesture – and her face immediately brightened. "Now, why don't you come out to the garage? I have a surprise for you."

"But – "

The boy's words fell on deaf ears as the old woman disappeared through the doorway that led out into the garage. Against his better judgement, he hesitantly followed her through, and found himself amazed by the sight.

Wybie's old garage at home was a tiny one-car space, with a meagre supply of tools and wrenches spilling out of a plastic bucket against the wall.

The garage in this world was massive – twice as big as the house itself, with a huge and well-organised workbench in the far corner. Floodlights were strategically placed around an impressive array of vehicles – new and vintage cars, and motorbikes that made his one seem like a windup toy by comparison.

"Holy cow…"

"Do you like it?" his 'grandmother' piped up, following his gaze to a shiny black off-road bike. "I thought you would. Why don't you take it out for a ride?"

Wybie was momentarily speechless – it was one thing to have such a beautiful motorbike in front of him, but to be given permission to ride it… He knew he had to get out of here, but why not take it out for a little spin first…?

"Go on!" the old woman encouraged, handing him his tri-lens skull helmet.

The young boy's spirits soared when he saw the familiar helmet. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, Mrs Jones' little daughter left it with me when she dropped you off here last night."

"Mrs Jones?" Wybie said, frowning. "Her daughter?"

"The one who kindly brought you over here."

_The one who kidnapped me from my bed, you mean._ He gritted his teeth, suddenly feeling an overwhelming desire to get away. He threw on the helmet, swung his leg over the seat of the bike and jammed down on the kick-start.

The motorbike came alive with a roar.

His Other Grandma waved at him as he peeled out of the garage and sped away down the road.

* * *

><p>"A game," Coraline repeated, feeling a knot twist in her stomach.<p>

The cat nodded. "There is common lore on Crossroad Demons, who make deals with humans in exchange for their souls. Certain beings of Purgatory also have that power – to prevent a human soul from passing on to wherever they naturally go."

"And she expects me to sell my soul to her?" the plucky girl exclaimed, her eyes ablaze. "I would never – " Her expression softened when she realised that she very nearly _had_, when she played the Beldam's game two months ago in the gamble for her freedom.

"The Beldam knows how to use your loved ones against you – you experienced it firsthand when she took your parents. Make no mistake; she will stop at nothing to have your soul, and Wyborne's."

Coraline felt her breath hitch in her throat. "What can I do…?"

"Humour her. Do not anger her. Do not give her reason to accelerate the process. At present, the only thing you have on your side is time."

"…There's something else I need to know, isn't there?"

The cat glanced around before continuing. "She has grown more powerful. Two souls are more than enough to sustain her for generations. But she has extended her reach, and her hunger grows." He looked at her pointedly. "You and the boy must not give in to her. Something big is happening."

"Wait!" she cried, but it was too late – the cat had already disappeared into the long grass surrounding the clearing. Coraline sighed. "Now what?"

She gazed through the orchard toward the path that would bring her back toward the house, but promptly decided that was the last place she wanted to go right now. Her gaze shifted toward the top of the ridge where, in the real-world version of this place, a grinning idiotic skeleton had appeared on his motorcycle and scared her half to death. Coraline smiled at the thought, and began to climb the hill. The ground was slippery, and she was glad she had been abducted while wearing her rain-boots – by far her most practical choice of footwear.

She reached the top of looked out across the land before her. The forest looked more like a bizarre jungle, and the hills looked more like mountains. The explorer in her could not resist, and she set off toward twinkling lights in the distance that could only be the Other Ashland.

The longer Coraline walked, the more she could see of what the Beldam had created to lure Wybie in. The place was a curious kid's paradise. There were lakes of an amazing shade of deep blue, trees hundreds of metres tall, shrouded in purple and blue leaves, and animals she had never seen in any book.

Perhaps the icing on the cake was the banana slugs – every single one of the darn things was at least twice as big as 'Slugzilla'. Yep, this place was a Wybie Paradise alright.

At the thought of her friend, who was now in danger because of her, she felt a sudden and intense wave of panic strike her like a brick wall. She knelt down, holding onto a nearby tree for support, as she took deep breaths to try and calm herself.

_Hold yourself together! Remember what the cat said – don't give in to fear…_

She did not hear the approaching footsteps until they were right on top of her.

"C-Coraline?"

She looked up to see a dark, yet slouchy and familiar figure standing nearby.

"Are you okay?" the voice continued, kneeling down next to her. "S-Sorry, I'd give you a paper bag – they're usually good for these things, I-I-I think, but I don't have one right now…"

Coraline managed to calm her breathing in the midst of the boy's rambling and looked up once more. "I-I'm fine Wybie…"

"Are you sure?" he asked, worry in his eyes.

"Yeah," she replied, the relief evident in her voice. "I'm glad you're okay."

Wybie felt a twinge of… something stirring in his stomach at her words. "What are you doing out here?" he finally asked, gesturing around at the woods.

The blue-haired girl decided it was best not to talk about her near panic, and inadvertently cause him to as well. "I just… had to get out for a while." She looked at him quizzically. "How did you find me all the way out here?"

He shrugged. "I-I saw the lights from that town – Ashland, I think? – and I got a little curious, I guess. I was riding along the road when I saw you."

An awkward silence fell between them as the reality of the situation suck in. They were both trapped in the Other World – possibly forever.

Coraline pulled her friend to his feet. "I'm so sorry you got kidnapped too," she said softly.

"I-I'm sorry to see you here as well… Well, sorry that you're here with the crazy evil dolls, but glad to see you're okay, and alive, and not with buttons in your eyes, and – "

"Wybie," she cut in, sitting down on a nearby fallen tree. "It's alright."

They sat on the moss-covered log in silence for a while, listening to the night. Even though they both knew that everything was fake. Completely artificial. Wybie was finding himself become more and more unnerved as the silence dragged on. He looked at his compatriot, wanting desperately to say something comforting. But he could not, for the life of him, think of anything appropriate or adequate, given the circumstances.

"I'm glad you're okay," Coraline spoke suddenly. "Really, really glad. When I heard you went missing, I – " Her words faltered, and she sighed.

"I'm not going anywhere," he offered weakly. "Like I said, we're going to get through this together."

She smiled at him – her appreciation of his support throughout this ordeal was unfathomable. Her opinion of him had come a long way from the jerk-wad who had knocked her down in the mud.

"Do y-you want to get out of here?" Wybie said, glancing around the woods with a nervous expression on his face. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Sure!" she replied, following him to the roadside, where a motorbike was standing, its engine purring and headlight still on.

"Do you like the bike?" he said gleefully. He couldn't help himself – the ride he was on before bumping into Coraline was the best he had ever taken in his short life. "It's great – no exploding engines, no flying over handlebars, and it's _fast_! I know it's not really mine, but still…"

She smirked. "It's a lot nicer than your real one."

Wybie felt a juxtaposition of thoughts at that comment – offence at her callous remark about his beloved motorcycle, and relief that she seemed to be regaining her composure. In the end, he gave her a shy half-smile.


	13. Chapter 12: The Town

**Chapter 12: The Town**

* * *

><p>The rumble of motorcycle echoed across the darkened hills as it approached the edge of the woods, and the outskirts of the Other Ashland. While its real-world counterpart was pleasant enough, although unremarkable, this town looked like something out of a Christmas card, or a toy box.<p>

Vibrant and colourful houses adorned the landscape, bright tulips and rosebushes could be seen in every direction, and wrought-iron lamp-posts lined the roads, casting a cheery glow over the streets. Every house the children rode past had balls, hula-hoops, bicycles and various other toys scattered across the front-lawns. The toys lay seemingly abandoned, almost inviting Wybie and Coraline to come over and use them.

There was not another person in sight.

She found herself growing increasingly uncomfortable the longer they went without seeing _someone_ – button-eyed or not. It was extremely creepy. "Why exactly are we here?" she shouted to Wybie over the roar of the motorbike's engine.

The mop-headed boy did not answer, seemingly too focused on steering. In reality, he did not wish to verbally announce his reasoning – that his friend needed some time away from the Pink Palace. He was finding the whole ordeal crazy enough himself. It could only be worse for her.

Coraline sighed and looked away to the left – and almost fell off the motorbike in surprise.

There, standing just behind the front window of the nearest house, was a little girl, staring back at her. It was dark inside the house, and only a fleeting glimpse, but Coraline could have sworn that the person looked familiar somehow –

At that moment, the motorcycle's engine cut out. She looked forward and Wybie cursed in surprise as the bike rolled to a stop in the middle of the road.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know…" he replied in a baffled voice. "The engine just… died…"

"Are you saying that we're stuck here?" she asked, tension slowly creeping into her voice. She inadvertently glanced toward the dark window, but the figure she had seen was gone.

Wybie, after safely standing the bike up on the sidewalk, scratched his head in puzzlement. The blue-haired girl sighed irritably when he looked at her with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Come on, let's see if we can find another way out of here." She shivered inadvertently at the absolute and unnerving silence of the street, devoid of any other life.

The two children left the bike on the footpath and made their way further into the town. To be honest, they had no idea what they were looking for – neither of them could drive a car, and riding a bicycle up into the dark hills at night would probably be a bad idea. Particularly with the strange animals Coraline had seen on her walk through the woods.

Wybie's face visibly lit up as she described some of the critters to him, which annoyed her for some reason. She was just about to irritably remind him that all of the 'wonders' around them were nothing more than creations of their prison warden, but something kept her mouth shut. She suspected he was probably just as terrified as she was, and having something else to think about could do no harm.

As they made their way further into the town, cheery suburbia gave way for more industrial and public buildings – candy shops, cake stores and bakeries, toy and clothing stores. Looking through the windows, it could be seen that all the lights were on, but no one was home.

"Okay, th-this is just w-weird," Wybie muttered. "Where is everyone?"

Coraline found herself glancing over her shoulder every now and then, keeping a wary eye out for the figure she had seen in the house window, or any other nightmarish creature that could be following them. All that could be seen, however, was the empty streets and a grassy park that had sprung up on their right.

"Hey, is it me, or does something smell really good around here?" Wybie's voice cut into her thoughts.

"…Hmm… Something _does_ smell good."

The young girl's experiences in the Other World had conditioned her to be wary around such enticing scents, but her rumbling stomach reminded her that she had not eaten anything in… who knows how long?

To this end, they wandered further down the street, where they found a hotdog cart standing next to the road. Like everything else in the town, it was seemingly abandoned, despite the sausages turning over in the oven. The two children looked at each other and shrugged, before helping themselves.

"Honey!" Wybie exclaimed, drizzling a large spoonful through his bun.

Coraline made a face. "Ew, gross! You have _honey_ with your hotdog?" She selected a more commonplace option of ketchup and mustard instead.

"Not gross. Awesome!" He thrust the bun toward her. "You should try it!"

"No _way!_" she cried, slapping his hotdog away. It flew out of his hands and onto the glass display with a loud _splat_, where it proceeded to slide slowly down to the ground, leaving an opaque trail of honey behind it. The two children looked at each other for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

"That wasn't cool!" the red-haired boy said between giggles, making himself another hotdog.

"Choose something normal this time and I won't have to do it again," Coraline replied, sticking out her tongue. They just about jumped out of their skin when a voice piped up from behind them.

"Excuse me, are you going to pay for those?"

They turned, and Coraline's eyes widened in shock. "Miranda?"

Sure enough, standing behind them was her new friend from school. The appearance was uncanny, but there were some differences. Instead of a ponytail, her brown hair was tied back in a single braid down her back. Instead of the school uniform that Coraline was used to seeing her friend in, this girl wore a pretty pleated dark-blue dress that ended just below her knees, and matching slippers.

And instead of a pair of piercing blue eyes, she had a pair of black button ones, criss-crossed with deep-blue thread.

"No, I'm the Other Miranda," she replied, a frown on her face. "And you didn't answer my question. Are you going to pay for those?"

"Uh…" Wybie stuttered, the expression on his face similar to that of a small child caught with their hand in the cookie-jar.

"Relax, I was only kidding!" the brunette puppet chirped after a beat, breaking out into a grin. "You're Coraline's friend too, right? That's great!" She brushed a stray lock of brown hair out of her face and looked him up and down. "You know, I heard you were handsome… but you're just _edible_."

The boy gaped in surprise, while Coraline felt a twinge of… could it be jealousy? No, of course not. That would be ridiculous.

"Anyway, welcome to Ashland," the living doll continued. "What do you think?"

"It's very… um… deserted," Wybie offered.

"So, that witch made a copy of you too, huh?" Coraline said, frowning.

The Other Miranda looked mildly surprised. "Well, sure she did. She wants you to be happy here, you know. We all do."

"Sure you do, right up until she steals my soul."

The lookalike pursed her lips and looked uncomfortable for a moment, but then abruptly changed the subject. "Hey, guess what? Tomorrow we go to school." She winked at Wybie. "You'll like it there. First period is art, then recess, then lunch, then science, then afternoon tea, then…"

"Don't get too used to seeing us," Coraline interrupted. "We won't be staying here for long." She shared a look with Wybie.

The Other Miranda's smile faltered momentarily. "I've heard otherwise. I get the feeling you'll be staying here for a very long time…"

The other girl was taken aback by her abrupt change of tone. It was subtle, almost indistinguishable, but definitely there. "You…"

They were interrupted by the sound of a loud novelty car horn down the street blaring out 'Greensleeves'. The three children turned to see a bright blue utility truck driving down the road. As it came closer, they were able to see that it was Mr Bobinski driving, although this button-eyed version of the Russian acrobat was particularly well-groomed by comparison. He looked almost identical to the previous puppet copy who Coraline had met on her past trips to the Other World, although he wore a well-pressed tuxedo instead of a circus ringmaster outfit.

She shivered, recalling how the previous Other Bobinski had transformed into a pack of viscous rats that attacked her during her escape attempt last time.

"Wybie, let's go," she said, grabbing her friend's arm and starting to pull him away, but the truck pulled up next to the hotdog cart.

"Dobryj dyen, children!" the Russian boomed, beaming at them. "Kak dyela?"

The Other Miranda pressed a hand to her mouth and giggled. "None of us speak Russian, Mr Bobinski!"

"Ah, my apologies. I just sometimes forget that I am no longer in home country."

Coraline was about to point out that, being a doll of the Beldam, he had never actually been to Russia, but ultimately decided that it was not wise to have another one of the Beldam's servants annoyed at her, and kept quiet.

The man in question looked at Wybie with an eyebrow raised. "I found a motorcycle lying out in the middle of the road. You should be more careful – anyone could just take off with it!"

The boy looked to see 'his' new motorbike lying in the back tray of the truck. "Uh, th-thanks…" he uttered, unsure of how to react.

"Tis my pleasure, children! He leaned over and opened the right-passenger door. "Hop in – I'll take you home."

Coraline stood in deliberation for a moment, before shrugging and climbing in. Between the choice of staying with a creepy lookalike of her new friend, or going back to the house and at least being close to the little door and a possible escape-route, it was an easy decision.

"Bye Coraline! Bye Wybie!" the Other Miranda chirped, waving. "I'll see you both at school tomorrow!"

Wybie wringed his hands nervously as he looked the Other Bobinski up and down, unsure of what to make of this strange situation. Seeing his neighbour like this was just surreal. "B-But Grandma says I shouldn't take rides with strangers," he finally said weakly.

"But I'm not a stranger!" the man boomed.

"N-No, it's okay, really…"

"Wyborne, I'm afraid I must insist."


	14. Chapter 13: Two Step

**Chapter 13: Two Step**

* * *

><p>Most of the journey 'home' was spent in silence. Wybie leaned on his arm against the door, while Coraline sat between him and the Other Bobinski, ignoring any attempts the latter made at conversation.<p>

The dark trees whipped past the windows, as the truck gradually closed the distance between them and the Pink Palace… and 'Her'. The girl's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the face in the window back in the town. She knew that the little girl she had seen looked familiar, and it was driving her crazy.

"You two will have to entertain yourselves for a bit," the Other Bobinski's voice cut into her thoughts. "Mrs Jones is not available right now."

"Where is she, anyway?" Coraline asked.

"Last I saw, she was in her workshop," he replied, button eyes on the road ahead, cast in the twin glow of the headlights. "She was fatigued, and needed to refresh herself."

_Her workshop…_ Coraline repeated to herself. No doubt it was the same workshop where the Beldam stitched and created living dolls to be her servants and spies. The very idea that she might be in there right now, creating a fresh spy to ensnare a new victim, made her very skin crawl.

"R-Refreshing herself?" Wybie piped up.

"Ah-ha, do not worry kids!" the Russian bellowed. "She left afternoon snacks for you two on the kitchen table – help yourselves. All sorts of sweets and treats." He cast a sidelong glance at them. "Perhaps, after you have eaten, you could come upstairs and help me to train Mice Circus, huh?"

Coraline felt a twinge of sympathy for him – he was just a puppet, but he seemed lonely. She wondered if the living dolls had any minds of their own whatsoever.

"You, well, the previous you, put on such a good show last time. I'm sure you don't need our help," she replied tactfully.

The Other Bobinski _harrumphed,_ but did not answer. Soon, they were pulling up to the front of the Pink Palace, where they were dropped off right at the entrance. Coraline felt an icy ball materialising in her stomach. However, she steeled her nerves and pushed open the door to reveal the warmly-lit interior. Wybie followed her through to the kitchen where, true to word, a sumptuous feast of hotdogs, pizza, cupcakes and sandwiches had been laid out on the table.

The food held no interest for Coraline.

Instead, her gaze was drawn to a sight that caused her heart to leap into her throat. The button key hung from a hook high above the doorway, in a similar place to where her real mother had attempted to put it out of her reach, at the height of her fascination with the little door months ago. The girl's eyes widened at the very real prospect of escape.

"Help me move that chair and some books over!" she hissed. "Quickly!"

Wybie complied, and was soon watching as his friend grabbed armfuls of books and phone directories from various drawers to construct a makeshift stepladder on top the wooden chair that had been positioned under the doorway.

"I'll get the key down," she whispered. "You go check the sitting room and make sure it's clear. Once I have the key, we're going to have to move fast."

"O-Okay…" he replied, peering down the corridor toward the staircase before making his way over to the doors that lead into the sitting room.

He cracked open the door, wincing at the loud creaking that echoed throughout the room. It was pitch-black inside, save for the cone of light from the hallway that spilled across the floor. His shadow looked enormous. He felt a twinge of hope when he saw the shadowy little door in the far wall. He started forward when, all of a sudden, little fairy bulbs began to twinkle in the walls and ceiling, casting the sitting room in a kaleidoscope of lights.

"I have to say, I'm rather _disappointed_ in you, Wyborne," a clear voice rang out across the room.

The lights brightened fully, illuminating the figure of the Other Mother, seated in an elaborately-carved chair. On the coffee-table in front of her sat a half-sewn black sweater and a set of knitting needles, the latter of which sent a cold bead of sweat down Wybie's back. The witch's red lips were turned down in disapproval, her arms were crossed, and her foot was tapping impatiently.

"Why don't you take a seat? I think it's time you and I had a nice, long _talk_."

The boy turned for the door, but it abruptly shut in his face.

"I haven't got all night, dear," the woman's cold voice said.

* * *

><p>"I've got it! I've got the key!" Coraline just about exclaimed, scrambling down from the stack of books and making her way across the hallway. "Wybie, let's – "<p>

The words died in her throat when the door suddenly closed in her face, sending her heart plummeting. She grasped the handles and pulled violently, but the door was closed fast.

_She couldn't know, could she…?_

The blue-haired girl gasped when she felt rough granules materialising in her hand. She looked down and opened her fist to see the button key crumbling into sawdust before her very eyes.

_A fake! Oh-no…_

* * *

><p>"I haven't got all night, dear," the Other Mother said sternly.<p>

His hands shaking, Wybie slowly made his way over to a waiting chair across the coffee-table from her. His heart was pounding so furiously, he feared it would burst from his chest, and he could not quite bring himself to meet the Beldam's gaze. He stared down at her hands instead. Which was strange – during his initial meeting with her when he first entered this world, he remembered her only having one hand…

The woman in question gave him a long, hard look. She surveyed him up and down, before clicking her tongue. "You know, it truly breaks a mother's heart when her children refuse to behave."

Wybie said nothing.

"The results from that little test were most unsatisfactory," the woman continued. "Don't you agree, Wyborne?" When he still refused to answer, she smiled. "You two can have anything you want in this world. Anything. All I ask is that you repay my hospitality."

"…Y-You're just an evil monster," the boy finally croaked out.

The Other Mother's button eyes flashed dangerously, but then she pinched his cheek playfully. "You know, Wyborne dearest, I think I liked you better when you couldn't talk."

"H-Huh?"

"Oh, Coraline didn't tell you?" the Other Mother laughed – a tinkling tone. "When she first came to me, I wanted to make her as happy here as possible. You, being her only friend in Oregon at the time, were an obvious addition that I had to make to her new home."

Wybie's eyes widened in understanding. Coraline had mentioned the residents of the Other World, including the 'Other Wybie'. She had never said much about any of them, however.

"Of course, I discovered that Coraline would find the Other Wybie more favourable if he did not speak," the Other Mother continued. "You see, she didn't like it very much whenever you talked. Not at all."

Something in the back of Wybie's mind was telling him that the Beldam was just playing some twisted mind game with him. However, he could not help but feel hurt at the fact that Coraline disliked him so much to actually want to have his ability to speak removed. Still… she had wanted his company – even without him talking – so that had to count for something. Right…?

The Beldam seemed to know what he was thinking. "Oh, don't flatter yourself," she said in a sweet voice, underlined with scorn. "The only reason she keeps you around is because you are the only friend around for miles… If you can even call yourself that."

Wybie shifted uncomfortably in the chair, her words cutting into him. The Other Mother picked up both of her knitting needles and continued to work on the sweater. He found himself inadvertently flinching each time the needles flicked against each other with a soft _clink_.

"I mean, I suppose you can already see it happening," she continued, her button eyes focused on her work. "That girl at school… what is her name? Miranda…? You _saw_ how excited Coraline was to meet her, how she discarded you to the side like a piece of trash…"

Wybie opened his mouth to speak, but lost his nerve when she shot him a sharp glare, before turning back to her knitting with gradually-increasing gusto.

"And of course, Coraline has that effect on people, doesn't she? Such a sweet – "

_Clink_.

"– loveable – "

_Clink_.

"– _darling_ girl! Who _wouldn't_ like her?" The Other Mother's face was tight and drawn for a moment, but then softened as she cast him a look of sympathy. "I'm afraid that your 'friendship' with her wouldn't have lasted, Wyborne."

He found himself unable to muster a response, his eyes downcast. Her words had struck at his heart, leaving him feeling numb. After all, Coraline had admitted that, before everything became dark and sinister, she had been giving serious thought to staying in the Other World forever. She _had_ liked it. And that meant that she had liked the… Other Wybie better than him.

The Beldam obviously knew Coraline better than the girl liked to admit. What if she was right – what if Coraline only tolerated him because he was the only other kid around for miles…?

"Have a cocobeetle, love," the Other Mother's voice cut into his thoughts. "Chocolate will make you feel better."

He looked up to see the woman offering him a pink box filled with squirming brown beetles. He shrugged and took one. As he crunched down on it, he found that they actually tasted pretty good.

"Oh my, look at the time!" she cried. "It's getting rather late! I think you'd best be getting home to your grandmother for dinner, Wyborne." She picked up the black sweater she had been working on and handed it to him with a wink. "There you go. I think you'll like the design I put on it."

"Thanks," he muttered dejectedly, standing to leave.

"Feel free to come back and visit tomorrow," the Other Mother called after him. "I always do enjoy our talks."


	15. Chapter 14: Dream Theatre

**Chapter 14: Dream Theatre**

* * *

><p>Coraline sat in her bedroom in a thoughtful silence, gazing mournfully out the window at the evening sky. The moon hung high in the void, and the stars shone like brilliant gems.<p>

It had been over two hours ago that Wybie had left abruptly, head downcast, with a muttered and barely-audible "Later, Jonesy." He ignored all her attempts to talk to him, and she was left alone in the house. Not knowing what else to do, she had run upstairs and locked herself in her room, kicking off her rain-boots and raincoat and curling up on the bed.

She did not know what Wybie's problem was, but she was practically distraught at having had her hopes for escape dashed like that. The Beldam could be really cruel.

After a while, the blue-haired girl crawled out of bed and sat on the window-seat of her bedroom's polygonal bay-window, hugging her knees to her chest. She had to keep her resolve. She had to. If she broke down, she would be breaking too many promises – to the cat to not give in to the Beldam, to Wybie that they were going to get out of here.

To herself that she would live a long and full life.

"Coraline!" the hated voice drifted from downstairs. "Dinner's ready!"

She sighed and pulled her yellow boots back on before trudging down to the kitchen, where a pan of sumptuous-looking lasagne sat on the table, its cheese still bubbling from the heat of the oven. Although she hated the fact that she had to eat the food here, she could not deny that it smelled really good.

"Ah, there you are!" her mother's lookalike said cheerfully, pouring two glasses of pink lemonade from a crystal pitcher, before seating herself at the table. "Come! Sit! Tell me all about your day! Where did you go? Were you helping Mr Bobinski with his jumping mice?"

"No," she replied, coming to sit down at the table apprehensively.

The Other Mother smiled as she placed a generous serving of lasagne in front of Coraline. Her plate remained empty. "Oh, well, I'm sure he'd appreciate the help at some point. But there's no rush. We have all the time in the world…"

"What did you say to Wybie?" she asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Hm?"

"He left without saying a word. What did you say to him?"

"Oh, that?" the woman replied, casually taking a sip of lemonade. "I just disciplined him and sent him on his way, that's all. No lasting damage, I promise."

"You're a liar!" Coraline exclaimed, slamming her fork down on the table.

"Is that any way to talk to your mother?"

"You. Aren't. My _mother_."

Silence fell between the two, the air charged with tension. The fiery girl recalled a very similar conversation she had with her a while back, and wondered what would happen next. She inwardly berated herself for blatantly ignoring the cat's advice of not angering the Beldam.

Surprisingly, however, she did not lose her temper. "Hmph," she said, her tone indignant. "Well then, no dessert for you."

* * *

><p>The following 'morning' (despite the fact that it was still pitch dark outside), Coraline awoke, clutching her blanket tightly. Although it was nice to wake up in a soft bed, instead of on the floor of a dusty mirror dungeon.<p>

However, her sleep had been anything but peaceful.

She could not remember much of the dream, only glimpses of a pale boy, with buttons for eyes, languishing in a dark, forgotten basement somewhere.

"Who are you?" she called into the darkness.

The ghost had only stared sadly back at her, and she shivered, unnerved by the thought a similar fate that was very much in store for her and Wybie.

"Please," she said gently. "I want to help you. What's your name?"

"…It's hard to remember," the boy finally replied solemnly, his voice echoing slightly. "I-I think it's… Joshua."

"Joshua," she repeated slowly. "Okay. Nice to mee you. I'm Coraline. I want to help you. Tell me where you are, so I can come find you."

"The Beldam is a liar," the ghost hissed suddenly.

The blue-haired girl was taken aback by his words. "I… I get that. Nothing is real. That's why I want to help you escape – "

"Only something real can shine through the ill intent," he interrupted. "Something real and true."

"I don't know what you're talking about – "

_"Wake up, Coraline."_

* * *

><p>Coraline shook her head as she sat up. What a weird dream.<p>

She frowned as she looked toward the bedroom door. She remembered barricading it with her desk, chair and trunk quite convincingly before she went to bed. However, all of the furniture was back in its usual place across the room – not a thing was out of place. In addition, her freshly-laundered clothes sat in a pile on the dresser.

It was unnerving to think that the witch had been creeping around the room while she was asleep, poised over her bed with her needle fingers ready to strike…

_I have to get out of here._

Coraline climbed out of bed and pulled off the nightclothes she had found in the dresser. Lying on top of her clothes was a note:

_Dearest Coraline,_

_I took the liberty of washing your clothes for you – they were quite muddy. Heaven knows what you and your friend got up to yesterday, but I hope you had fun exploring the woods!_

_School starts today. I've packed you a lunch – it's waiting on the kitchen table._

_Love,_

_Mother_

Coraline snorted as she pulled on her striped tights, sweater and purple skirt.

_School? You've _got_ to be kidding me._

She jammed her feet into her yellow boots and made her way downstairs. No sooner had her boots hit the bottom step did the doorbell ring. The blue-haired girl glanced around the house warily, but it was dark and silent. The Beldam was nowhere in sight.

Coraline carefully made her was up to the front door and entertained the notion that she might be able to see through the frosted glass if she squinted hard enough. In the end, she gave up and wrenched open the door with an irritable sigh. In fell a mop-headed boy onto the doormat with a crash.

"Ow!" Wybie grumbled. "Have you ever considered opening the door like a normal person, Jonesy?"

"You're blaming me?" she shot back indignantly. "It's _your_ fault you fell in – you were leaning against the door, you weirdo!"

"Yeah, because I thought I saw movement on the other side of the window – ah whatever."

It was then that Coraline noticed that the boy was wearing a school uniform, identical to the one the adults forced them to wear in the real world. She stared for a moment, and then burst out laughing. "Oh, wow, you're actually wearing that?"

"My Grandma made me… My Other Grandma, I mean…" he said as he scratched the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed.

The plucky girl smirked, before her expression became sombre. "What happened last night? You kind of just took off."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry about that," Wybie said sheepishly.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure," he answered, a little too quickly. He turned his brown eyes away from her hazel ones to stare at his feet, as though he had just found something absolutely fascinating on the tip of his shoes.

"Really?" Coraline pressed.

"Jonesy, I'm fine."

She was taken aback at her friend's tone of voice, but decided not to push it. Just what did the Beldam say to him last night?

"Anyway, I came by to get you for school," Wybie said after an awkward silence.

"You can't be serious." She pushed past him toward the motorbike that was standing on the driveway, grabbing his arm. "Come on, you can drive us into town. There's something I want to check out."

"But I didn't – ah, okay!"

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

Well, well, it's been a while hasn't it? I haven't browsed this archive for a few weeks, but it's great to see people discovering this movie, and so many new stories popping up. I look forward to browsing through them.

I apologise for not updating for a while, but writer's block sucks like that. But all of a sudden, plot ideas started coming to me, so hooray!


	16. Chapter 15: Other Coraline: Part I

**Chapter 15: Other Coraline: Part I**

* * *

><p>"Are you sure it's a good idea to be skipping school?" Wybie asked as he pulled the motorbike to a stop on the outskirts of the surreal town.<p>

"It's not school," Coraline shot back as she dismounted.

The boy had no answer to that as he followed her up to front pathway toward the townhouse he had stopped in front of. The blue-haired girl warily eyed the front window, where just yesterday she had seen the figure of a little girl staring out at her from the dark room beyond.

"What are we doing here?" Wybie asked quietly.

"I don't know… It almost feels like something is… calling to me." Seeing her friend's perplexed expression, Coraline shrugged.

"I don't know about this…" her compatriot muttered.

She ignored him and tested the doorknob to find that it was unlocked. She pushed on the door and it swung open with a loud groaning that echoed throughout the house. The pair of children paused in the doorway and listened.

Silence.

"Jonesy, this place is really giving me the creeps," Wybie hissed. "Let's get outta here."

"You can wait outside if you're going to be a lily-livered turtle-duck, but I'm going to check this place out," she shot back over her shoulder.

As she carefully made her way into the house, the boy felt a flash of anger at her. Why was she always like this? However, he swallowed his uneasiness and followed her inside to find himself in a dark entry foyer, barely-lit by an electric chandelier hanging overhead. The ever-present wallpaper throughout the empty house was off-white in colour, with an imprint of flying birds. The floorboards creaked as they walked.

As the two carefully made their way further into the house, they came across a dining room, dimly-lit by another chandelier and a number of wall-mounted lights on brackets. A lonely table, rather short by dining room standards, sat in the middle of the room, with an old wooden chair at either end. A pair of places, each consisting of a plate and cutlery set, was present on the table, covered in a layer of dust, forgotten.

The silence in the house, save for their footsteps, was broken by Wybie. "Lily-livered turtle-duck?"

Coraline smirked as she led the way across the room. "Just a strange animal I saw in the woods. There's really no other way to describe it."

The door on the far side of the room groaned in protest as it too was pushed open, revealing a mostly-empty room, with a small window near the ceiling. Pale moonlight shone in through the glass, casting a beam of moonlight onto a lonely upright piano standing against one wall. Flecks of dust drifted in the air.

"What is it with the Other World and pianos?" Coraline muttered. She experimentally tapped a few keys, the musical notes seeming to shatter the oppressive silence.

"Uh, Jonesy?" Wybie's voice came from across the room. "If you'll stop playing the creepy piano for one second, there's something over here you might want to see."

She came away from the musical instrument and looked toward her friend to see a message scrawled on the wall:

_**THIS WORLD IS A LIE**_

Coraline felt a strange knot twisting in her stomach at seeing those words. It was almost as if she had heard them somewhere before…

"Are you okay?" Wybie asked.

She blinked. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine." She exhaled slowly. "Let's get out of here."

At that moment, the electric lights in the dining room flickered, the sound of a short-circuit sparking in the air and startling both children.

"Um, yes. That sounds like a very good plan," Wybie answered immediately.

As soon as they were back outside, Coraline turned and looked back at the house, a frown marring her features.

"What's going on?" the mop-headed boy asked. "Why are you so interested in this place?"

"I don't know…" she answered. "Something's off about it…"

"You're really weird," he muttered, only to receive a punch to the arm in response. "Ow!"

"You deserved that, jerk-wad."

Wybie scowled at her, before heading toward his motorbike. "Come on, let's head back. If we're not going to school, let's at least get some lunch."

Neither of them were prepared for who – or what – was waiting for them when they pulled into the driveway of the Other Pink Palace. There, at the foot of the steps up to the front porch, stood a girl with disturbingly-similar hair to her own – bobbed and blue, but with a butterfly barrette instead of a dragonfly one.

Coraline's eyes widened. _Oh, she _didn't_…_

The girl waiting for them was wearing the same outfit as Coraline. In fact, aside from subtle differences, nearly everything about the girl was identical. Except for the shiny black buttons she had instead of eyes.

Coraline felt as though she was going to be sick.

"There you both are!" the Other Coraline cried happily, scuffing one of her own yellow rain-boots against the pavement. "You're the first ones I wanted to show my new face and clothes too! What do you think?"

Wybie gaped. Was this the blank living doll that had kidnapped him from his bedroom? That creepy, homicidal, half-finished doll with the knife? Even the puppet's voice had changed – its voice ('her' voice) sounded almost exactly like the real Coraline's now. Is this what the Beldam had been secretly working on all this time?

The Other Coraline clasped her hands behind her back and giggled mischievously. "Do you like my look?" she trilled. "Aren't I beautiful?"

A beat passed, before Wybie was able to stammer out, "Uh, y-yeah…"

The puppet girl's smile widened. "Aw, golly, thanks, Wybie! Of course, that's because I was modelled after the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world!" She nodded to the real Coraline at this last statement, the latter of which remained silent and continued glaring at her.

"Uh, h-how does it feel to have a face now?" Wybie ventured after another awkward silence.

"It feels… I feel…" The Other Coraline's voice faltered momentarily. The boy could have sworn that if she had real eyes instead of button ones, tears would be streaming down her face. "It's wonderful. It's almost like I have a real identity now!"

"Except that you don't. It's _my_ identity," Coraline suddenly said sharply.

A flicker passed across the doll's face, but the moment quickly passed. "And what an identity it is!" she said, cocking her head to one side. "You've sure seen and done a lot in your time, Coraline. I'm jealous."

"Why are you really here?" the plucky girl pressed. "Are you going to brainwash Wybie or something?"

"Huh?" the boy in question exclaimed.

The Other Coraline blanched. "What are you…?"

"B-Brainwash?" Wybie stammered.

"I would never…" The button-eyed girl shot him a glance.

"Well?" her real counterpart demanded.

The living doll looked hurt. "No, of course I'm not going to brainwash Wybie, or do something horrible. I'm just here to keep you company." She pursed her lips and looked away shyly. "I… I'd like for us to be friends… If you two want to, that is."

Aside from the chirping of crickets, the front yard was silent as the two children stared at her in disbelief. The hope in her expression gradually faded, vanishing completely when the silence became unbearable.

"It's okay if you don't want to," she said, her button eyes downcast. "It's just… I was bullied a lot before Mother fixed me, and I don't really have any friends."

Coraline's resolve softened, and she opened her mouth to say something –

"Oh, I almost forgot! Here's our lunch!" The Other Coraline abruptly brought her hands back in front of her, holding several wrapped sandwiches. "Peanut-butter and jelly," she said to Wybie cheerfully. "They're your favourite, right? I made them myself, you know!"

He was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanour. "Oh, uh… thanks…"

Coraline, on the other hand, frowned. She eyed her doppelganger down suspiciously, wondering what else could be produced at a moment's notice, like the nauseating sleep powder, or that big knife of hers –

"Come on then, sillies!" the button-eyed girl in question exclaimed, making her way up the steps and onto the front porch. "I brought the sandwiches out so we can have a picnic. But first, Mother wants to have a word with us all." With that, she disappeared through the front door and was lost from view.

Coraline was beginning to hyperventilate, and took a deep breath to try and calm herself. So this was how the Beldam planned to play her next move. Because having a lookalike with button eyes had clearly been done for her benefit. It was almost as if the witch was trying to send her a message. That this was her future – to serve as a mindless, button-eyed slave.

She gritted her teeth and looked up the front steps toward the door. She knew she would not be able to get through this upcoming conversation without Wybie at her side, which was why she grabbed his hand and squeezed.

A surge of relief and renewed strength coursed through her when she reassuringly felt the hand grasped in her own squeeze back.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

Thank you all for the continued support so far. As always, reviews are appreciated.

I drew inspiration for the abandoned house from _Coma_ (1), an awesome artsy indie game. Credit goes to Atmos Games.

I was watching the movie the other day with my family, which gave me inspiration to write again. Thankfully there are more good movies coming out soon (_The Hobbit_, anyone?). Although I remember being pretty annoyed when I saw an ad for _Madagascar 3_. I was like, "Why is this crap coming out while _Coraline_ doesn't have a sequel?!"

Oh well, I suppose that's what fanfiction is for, right?

* * *

><p>FEEDBACK:<p>

Aryck1095:

C: I'm wondering what the heck is going through Wybie's head; surely he's not stupid enough to fall for the Beldams tricks?

A: Not too sure I'd say stupid. He is scared and confused, that much is certain.

xXKillorbeKilledXx

C: Great chapter! I feel like lasagna now…

A: Thanks! And me too.

Woodswolf:

C: I've never been able to catch LoK while it's been on. I've been keeping up with a few shows, but my younger brother controls the TV remote, and he does not watch LoK. I've seen the thousands of e-mails in my inbox for Reflections, though.

A: I don't know why you're getting emails regarding that story, unless you have it on your alert list or something.

C: For some reason this chapter looked far longer and scarier and 'laggier' than it actually was.

A: Not too sure what you mean here.

* * *

><p>(1) www DOT atmosgames DOT com


	17. Chapter 16: Other Coraline: Part II

**Chapter 16: Other Coraline: Part II**

* * *

><p>The footsteps sounded heavier than ever to Coraline as she and Wybie padded their way down the corridor to the kitchen, the bright lights of the hallway and all the cheerful colours nothing more than a lie. Just like the rest of the Other World.<p>

Hand in hand for support, the pair of children came to the kitchen, where they found the Other Coraline standing at the table and pouring out three glasses of lemonade for them. The Other Mother was just setting down a plate of cookies when they entered, at which point she straightened up and smiled brightly at them.

"Well, _there_ you two are, you naughty little things! Skipping class? Well, I never!" She placed her hands on her hips and _tsked_ lightly. "I'm afraid this sort of behaviour is just unacceptable, children."

No one had a response, and silence filled the kitchen momentarily, before being broken by the whistling of the kettle as it boiled over on the stove. The Other Coraline brushed some imaginary dust off her skirt before waltzing across the room to bring the kettle to the table.

Coraline found herself locked in the piercing gaze of her mother's lookalike. "You know, your friend Miranda was very upset when you didn't show up at school today. She was really looking forward to spending time with you."

"Yeah, well the _real_ Miranda would also be upset that I can't see her either. And I'd much rather spend time with _her_," she shot back in a rebellious tone.

The woman's mouth thinned to a flat line as she began to grow irritated.

"Please don't be mad at them, mother," the button-eyed Coraline spoke up suddenly, her hands clasped behind her back and her expression sheepish. "I've just made friends with them, and they're the first ones I've ever had."

"Oh, of course I'm not mad at them, dear," the Other Mother said to her, as though she was reassuring a small child, before turning back to the real counterpart. "I just think that the instigator of this insubordination needs a little timeout, that's all."

"A timeout?" Coraline said, balling her fists at her side. "What are you going to do, imprison me behind the mirror again?"

"Behind the mirror?" she heard Wybie ask quietly beside her, but paid him no mind, keeping her eyes locked with her adversary's.

The one in question laughed lightly in response, turning to make herself a cup of tea from the freshly-boiled water in the kettle. "Oh, no, nothing like that. I'd just like your help in cleaning up my workshop, if you wouldn't mind. It's getting a little dusty in there, and I need to keep my tools in check."

Coraline's eyes widened at the mention of the workshop – the place where the Beldam sewed and created dolls and spies to help her ensnare new victims. Never in a million years had she expected to be allowed inside, and yet here she was, being given an invitation by the owner herself.

Although the thought scared her beyond belief, she knew going to that place would give her valuable information about her enemy, not to mention advanced notice on what the Beldam might be working on in there. If all else failed, maybe she could find a way to sabotage the workshop and stop her from being able to claim any more children…

"Alright. I'll do it," she finally answered.

"I'm glad to hear it," the woman replied, taking a sip from her teacup. "Not that you had a choice in the matter, anyway."

The Other Coraline clapped her hands together excitedly. "Oh, this is so exciting! You get to spend time with Mother in her workshop, Coraline! And you and I get to go and have a picnic, Wybie!" She turned her head toward the boy, as her smile widened and her head cocked to one side. "We're going to have _so_ much fun! I just know it!"

Coraline felt Wybie's surprisingly-strong grip on her arm as he pulled her out into the darkened hallway.

"Are you sure about this?" he immediately asked when they were alone.

"I have to do this," she replied.

When he saw the resolve in those hazel eyes, he knew there would be no changing her mind. "…Alright," he finally said, his voice worried. "Just… be careful."

"You too." Coraline stole a glance back through the doorway, where her lookalike was still sitting happily at the kitchen table. "Keep an eye on her, and find out what you can about this place, and if there are any other doorways we could escape through."

"Come on, you little conspirators," the Other Mother said good-naturedly as she came out into the hallway. "Let's get to work, Coraline."

The blue-haired girl shot her friend a nervous smile, before leaving him and following the witch down the hallway and up the stairs. However, instead of taking a left toward her bedroom, she followed to the other door, behind which her parents' bedroom would be in the real world.

"Here we are," the Other Mother said, taking a dull brass key out of her apron pocket (Coraline made a mental note of this).

The key slid into the keyhole below the doorknob and released the lock with a loud _CLICK_, before the door was pushed open. Coraline gazed in wonder at the room behind, its walls plastered with a sickly yellow wallpaper, imprinted with flowery patterns. Every surface of the room was covered either in dust or thick cobwebs. A couple of cabinets sat against the walls, filled with various materials and sewing equipment, while a large workbench stood in the middle of the room. An aged wooden work-kit lay on the table, and Coraline had no doubt that it was where the Beldam crafted her hideous dolls. A lonely window was set into a wall, through which she could see the starry sky.

"Well, as you can see, this place is a bit of a mess," the Other Mother said, handing her a feather duster. "So I'd like you to give it a quick dust-down, and then you can go and join your friends for lunch. Sound fair?"

Coraline eyed the room, seeing that it had obviously not been cleaned, or dusted, in a very long time. "Why do you want me to do this now?"

The woman's button eyes flashed, as though the girl's words had stirred something in her. "Well, you seemed so _unsatisfied_ with the friends and family that I made for you, you fussy little thing, so I plan to get you some more company." She tapped her right button eye, a knowing smirk on her face. "So why don't you get to work? I have new dolls to make, and new doorways to open."

The girl felt a cold fear grip her when she realised that the Beldam was putting her plan into effect to capture and imprison more children. The very idea made her sick, and she found herself wishing that she had brought some of her father's matches with her to the Other World, so that she could set the workshop on fire.

_Of course, she'd just rebuild it,_ she thought miserably.

The click of the lock was the only sound to be heard as the Beldam closed the door behind her, locking her inside the room.

* * *

><p>Crickets and cicadas chirped in the pale light of the moon and stars that shone over the vivid, wooded and mountainous landscape before them. The mountains appeared to have grown taller than they were the previous day.<p>

"Come on, Wybie," the Other Coraline giggled as she ran off.

The boy in question cast an unsure glance back at the Pink Palace, before turning and following the button-eyed girl as she ran off into the forest. And beneath the colourful canopy, it was incredible. There was moss and mushrooms that glowed brightly in the gloom, darting fireflies that whizzed around his head, and animals that he had never seen in any book.

After a little while, he paused when he noticed family of ducks and fluffy yellow ducklings swimming in a pond below the trees. The strange thing was that these ducks had green turtle shells covering their bodies. He thought back to when Coraline called him a "lily-livered turtle-duck", and smiled in spite of himself.

It was then that he realised what he was doing.

"I really need to get back," he said, looking back the way they came, only to realise he did not know which direction that was anymore.

"You mean you don't want to spend time with me?" the Other Coraline said in a hurt voice.

"No, no! I do!" he insisted. "It's just… I should go back and meet up with Coraline. You know, the other… real Coraline."

"But you can't just leave!" the button-eyed girl cried, sitting down on a fallen log and sobbing. "I want you to stay here with me!"

Wybie was hit with a pitiful sense of déjà vu, remembering the terrible guilt he felt when he made his Other Grandma cry. He always hated it when he saw his grandmother cry, and he realised that he hated the thought of Coraline crying even more.

"Hey, it's okay," he said soothingly, placing a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "I-I don't have to go just yet."

The button-eyed Coraline looked up and sniffed, a weak smile tugging at her lips. "There's a really beautiful lake a little ways in," she said with uncertainty. "Do you want to go see?"

"Sure."

After that, the pair of children explored for what felt like hours, and, Wybie had to admit to himself, it was the most fun he had had in a long time. The Other Coraline was a chirpy, cheerful and fun person to be around. If he looked at her long enough, he almost forgot about the button eyes, or the blank living doll who had threatened him with a knife back in his bedroom.

The two eventually came to a stop in a field with a large lake that the Other Coraline had mentioned, where they sat on a grassy hill under a stooping tree. As they ate their lunch, talking and laughing, Wybie felt himself strangely at ease. This girl did not make him sputter or feel nervous or idiotic like the real Coraline sometimes did.

Why was that?

* * *

><p>Moonlight trickled through the window into the dusty workshop as Coraline absentmindedly brushed some cobwebs off an old sewing machine, not bothering to pick them up off the floor. The last thing she wanted to do was make her warden's life any easier.<p>

A ghostly whisper drifted suddenly through the stale air.

Coraline perked up and glanced uneasily around the room. There was a moment of silence, before the strange whispering came again, barely audible. She listened intently, and was drawn toward the workbench, where the sound appeared to be emanating from.

_"This world is a lie… This world is a lie… This world is a lie…"_

She stepped up to the worn bench and hesitantly lifted her hand toward a single knob sticking out below the tabletop. She swallowed, and pulled the thin drawer open to be greeted with the sight of buttons.

Individualised compartments made up the drawer, filled with pairs of buttons of all different sizes and colours.

Coraline took a deep breath to calm herself. _They're only buttons… They're nothing without the needle and thread…_

A pair of green buttons in the top-left corner of the drawer caught her attention, reflecting the light of the lamp hanging overhead. She frowned, wondering why these ones in particular held her attention so. She glanced around the room, and then picked one up and gazed at it long and hard.

The sound of tapping echoed in the air.

Coraline shrieked in surprise, dropping the green button, and slammed the drawer shut, looking around wildly. Seeing no one else in the room, she took a moment to regain her composure and slow her breathing, when more tapping came again, more insistent than before.

The blue-haired girl finally ascertained where it was coming from, and looked toward the window to see a familiar, and very welcome, figure standing hunched outside on the roof of the house. She walked quickly over to the window and opened it, its hinges creaking in protest from lack of use.

"There you are," the scrawny black cat said, leaping inside the room. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"_You've_ been looking for _me_?" she shot back. "What about you disappearing? I really could have used your advice in the last two days!"

"First of all, I'm not one of these 'parents' that you humans so foolishly look to for advice all the time," he said haughtily, licking a stray cobweb off one of his paws. "And secondly, I have been gathering information. And I'm afraid it's not good."

Coraline indignant posture slowly dissolved as she took in his words. "What sort of information?"

"You've done a very dangerous thing, girl," the cat said, looking at her pointedly. "When you left the Other World last time, the witch went beyond hysteria. She had spent all of her energy trying to trap you, and when you escaped, she became desperate. Desperate enough to create a doorway."

Icy weights wrapped themselves around her heart at his words.

"In all my life, I have never seen anything like it," the cat continued, sounding genuinely worried. "Beings of Purgatory are bitter creatures, bent on hunger and survival. They rarely try to enter your world directly."

"No… other Beldams…" Coraline had to swallow at the prospect of there being more than one. "No other Beldams have done anything like it before?"

"They used to – at the height of their power."

What he said chilled her to the bone, and she was rudely reminded of her conversation with the monster some time ago, about some black age, when the Beldams were free to "ensnare at will – openly feared and revered". The reality of the situation hit her like a brick wall.

"I am sorry to burden you with this," the cat continued. "You are obviously distressed by the news."

"What did you expect?" Coraline exploded, pacing around the room frantically. "What if other monsters find out what happened here and decide to start doing the same thing?"

"Then doorways to Purgatory will begin to appear all over the world. It could very well lead to a battle that extinguishes human life."

"Well, it's already starting!" she exclaimed, remembering the Beldam's words to her before she left. "What can I do to stop it? I'm not going to let that witch lead an army out of this place!"

The cat looked her up and down with his piercing blue eyes before he spoke, as if assessing the girl who had broken through his expectations of humans. "The way to stop it is to stop _her_. And the only way to stop her is to stop the feeding." He leapt back up to the windowsill, but turned to look at her one last time. "She knows I am here, and she is coming. I have to go. The answers you are looking for are in that house. Stay strong, Coraline."

With that, he leapt out the window and disappeared into the night.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

Five points to anyone who can spot the _Avatar: Legend of Aang_ reference.

I'm sorry for not updating for a while. But most of my creative battery has been focused on my other stories, and it wouldn't be fair to Coraline to write a half-assed chapter now, would it?

However, this does mean good news for you: thanks to some highly critical and extremely helpful feedback I received in my other stories, I like to think that my writing has improved by leagues. So, in the words of Matthew Reilly, I see my writing in previous chapters as 'Sonosublime Version 1.0', while, from here on out, you will be seeing 'Sonosublime Version 2.0'. Hopefully it shows.

We are getting toward the business end of the story, and I'm excited to have a fairly solid idea of where things are going. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	18. Chapter 17: Eclipse

**Chapter 17: Eclipse**

* * *

><p>Beneath the starry sky, Coraline paced in front of the Pink Palace, waiting anxiously for Wybie to return. He had been gone for hours, and she was terrified that the Other Coraline might have done something horrible to him.<p>

After the cat's surprise visit, the Other Mother had come up into the workshop and angrily kicked Coraline out, not that the girl was complaining. Being around all that terrible sewing equipment was not doing any wonders for her psyche.

But then again, neither was standing around, wondering if her friend was okay or not. She desperately wanted to go out into the woods to search for him, but honestly had no idea where to start. Her mop-haired friend could be anywhere.

A peal of laughter caught her attention, and she looked to see the boy in question coming up the hill toward the house. An intense wave of relief surged through her.

However, that feeling quickly turned to anger when she saw that he was casually strolling up the hill, a wicker basket in hand, chatting and laughing with her button-eyed clone. Here she was, fretting and worrying over him, while he was out having a nice picnic with that cheap copy of her?

"Hey!" she called, barely managing to keep the annoyance out of her tone. "What took you two so long?"

"Hey, Jonesy!" Wybie said excitedly, running up to her and pulling the red and white chequered flannelette covering off the basket in his hands. "Check it out! We stopped off at my house and my Other Grandma gave us these peanut-butter snaps! You should try one, they're _really_ good."

"I'm not really hungry..."

"He's right, you should try them," the Other Coraline said brightly, coming up to stand next to her friend. "They're amazing – the best things I've ever eaten."

Her real counterpart just glared, her anger at the living doll renewed twice as much. Tenfold, even. Had she not been worried that this slave of the Beldam would try to brainwash Wybie? And now here the boy was, acting all happy and excited.

It was almost as if he actually wanted to stay here.

As much as Coraline wanted to blow up then and there, she took a deep breath and reigned in her temper. "Uh huh," she said through clenched teeth, before turning to Wybie. "Did you see anything... of interest out there?"

"Heck yes we did!" he exclaimed, several snaps flying out of the basket as he waved the basket about. "There was a lake, and a cave with glowing crystals and an underground _jungle_! And you were right about the animals, Jonesy. Look at this!" He thrust a jar in her face, which was almost filled to the brim with pulsing yellow slug. "Check out _this_ guy! It's, like, Slugzilla's _God_ or something!"

The blue-haired girl pushed the jar away. "Well, I'm glad you two had so much _fun_," she replied, her tone coming out sharper than she intended. "But did you see anything _else_?" She lowered her voice so that only Wybie could hear her. _"Like another doorway?"_

"Oh!" the red-haired boy stammered, suddenly realising what she meant. "Uh, n-no... Nothing like that."

"Then we're still trapped here," she whispered urgently, "and we've got a big problem – "

"Wyborne!" a voice said pleasantly from the front door. All three children turned to see the Other Mother standing there, her rage from before apparently gone. "Why don't you stay for dinner tonight? I've made so much food, and it would be a _treat_ to have you over."

The boy in question shivered slightly under her piercing button stare, remembering how uncomfortable she made him feel during their 'chat' the previous day. "Uh, s-sure," he said quickly.

"Great," the woman said, smiling perkily. "Well, you kids had better come in and wash up. Dinner is almost ready."

Five minutes later, the four of them sat around the dining room table, laden with dishes of steaming vegetables and fluffy fish in rich white sauce. Although Coraline did not like her in the least, she could not argue that the Other Mother's cooking skills were second to none. She ate her supper quietly while the Other Coraline chatted excitedly with her creator about all the exciting things she did during the day, Wybie offering a timid response whenever he was asked a question.

The atmosphere was strained, to say the least.

"Are you enjoying your dinner, Coraline?" the witch asked, turning to her.

"It's fine," she grumbled.

"What's wrong?" her doppelganger asked, spearing a piece of fish with her fork. "Didn't you have fun helping Mother in her workshop today?"

"Oh yes, it was a _fantastic_ experience," she shot back, glaring at both button-eyed occupants at the table.

Her mother's lookalike simply held her quaint smile. "Yes, it was. I must say, I had a lot of fun with _your_ image, Coraline."

The girl in question stared back, refusing to take the bait. "Well, I have to admit, you actually ended up with a decent _knock-off_."

Although the Other Coraline kept up a smile, her hands balled up tightly into fists underneath the dinner table.

The Other Mother put a comforting hand on her daughter's fists. "Oh, Coraline. You have such a sense of humour." She abruptly stood and turned to her creation. "Come, dear, let's clear up for dessert, shall we?"

With a clatter of dishware, she and the Other Coraline disappeared into the kitchen. Wybie looked pointedly at his blue-haired friend.

"What did you say that for?" he asked accusingly. "That really wasn't nice."

Coraline just gaped at him for a few moments, before shaking her head slowly in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" Before he could answer, she grabbed his arm, pulled him to his feet and stormed out the front door. "We need to talk."

The two children made their way around the house until they came to back garden, alight with glowing heart-shaped flowers and gnarled trees, their braches bursting with multicoloured leaves. What had once been a place of wonder for Coraline in her previous visits to the Other World was now just another reminder of the enticement and dangers of this place.

When they reached the bridge across the pond, its dark surface filled with lily-pads, she turned and rounded on her friend. "What's your problem?"

"What's _my_ problem? You were really mean to the Other Coraline just then," he exclaimed back. "She's really nice, Jonesy. You should give her a chance."

"I'm not giving _her_ a chance! Don't you see what she's doing?"

Wybie faltered, subconsciously aware of what his friend was getting at. He remembered what she had said about the Other residents, who had previously captivated her and lured her into the wonder of the Other World. After a moment, he shook his head. "N-No, it's not like that. I _did_ try to find a way to get out of this world, and she never tried to stop me or anything. I guess we just had some... fun along the way. I couldn't find a way out, though."

"So it's like that, is it? You just go and find a copy of me for a replacement?" The blue-haired girl put her hands on her hips, her temper flaring. "I know I can be... difficult sometimes, but I think you just took the biggest slice of the Pathetic Cake!"

"H-Hey! I'm not pathetic!"

"Yes you are, if you're falling for all this!" she shouted back. "Don't you get it? What's the point of living, if all you're going to do is sit around on your butt all day, with everything being handed to you? When you never have to do anything for yourself? When all the people you meet are as fake and full of sawdust and lies and cheap smiles as the next?"

A dense silence fell between the pair, the soft murmur of the nightly wind through the trees the only sound to be heard.

After a few moments, Wybie turned away, back toward the house. "I'm going to go hang out with the Other Coraline," he said bluntly as he started to walk away. "She's nicer than you."

"Yeah, well don't come running to me when she stabs you in the back with that big knife of hers!" Coraline yelled at his retreating back.

Up above, a huge shadow began to pass across the moon.


	19. Chapter 18: The Lost: Part I

**Chapter 18: The Lost: Part I**

* * *

><p>Some time passed between Coraline and Wybie's argument, during which time she sat on a log in the garden outside, fuming about how stupid her friend was acting. Did he seriously think that the Other Coraline actually cared about him?<p>

She found herself pondering the cat's words. The answers she was looking for were in the townhouse? But where? She and Wybie had searched through the place and found nothing. The only real noteworthy feature in the house was the piano.

What was so important about that place?

The young girl racked her brains in vain. After a while, she gave up and made her way back toward the Pink Palace. Thankfully, the Beldam was nowhere to be seen. Coraline sighed. She was emotionally exhausted – her friend was no longer speaking to her, the cat had brought ill tidings, her parents were probably worried sick about her, all on top of the Beldam's taunts and threats. The blue-haired girl warily made her way toward the staircase up to her bedroom. She needed some sleep, if only for a few hours, before she could even comprehend thinking about what to do.

However, she paused when she heard soft music drifting down the hallway. Curiosity took hold of her and she slowly made her way toward the study across the main hallway from the kitchen. The soft sound of piano keys could be heard coming from behind the door. It was not really a song, more than a series of notes. After listening for a while, Coraline found that she could recognise which ones they were.

_ D... E... B A B..._

After standing in deliberation for some time, her hand hovering above the handle, she opened the door and went inside. A bright and cheery scene greeted her – music memorabilia filled the room. It was just how it had looked from her last visit to the Other World. A cello sat on a stand against one wall, a record player against another, next to shelves overflowing with vinyl records.

However, on the bench in front of a polished red grand piano sat a figure that looked anything but cheerful.

Her back to the door, the Other Coraline sat, her shoulders hunched forward, dolefully tapping her 'song' out over and over again. Her anger from earlier gone, Coraline was able to register just how sad her button-eyed clone looked. She remembered how the Other Wybie had rebelled against the Beldam and saved her, even though the actions had cost him his life. Perhaps she was being too hard on the girl.

"Hey," she finally said after a moment.

The Other Coraline did not answer, choosing instead to continue tapping the piano keys. Coming to stand behind the bench, Coraline could see the doll's downcast button eyes. As she continued to play, the young girl turned away from her momentarily and sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment. She heard a stir behind her and turned back toward the piano. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It's just... with everything that's been happening, I'm..." Coraline gingerly sat down on the piano bench next to her doppelganger. "I'm scared."

The living doll stopped playing after a moment, gazing at the starry sky outside the window thoughtfully. After some time of silence, she spoke softly, "I am too."

Her real counterpart frowned in puzzlement. "Of what?"

"I'm scared of what Mother is going to do to you and Wybie," she said bluntly. "She's been... changing. All I see in her eyes now is hunger, and I'm worried about you two."

Coraline was surprised that the Beldam's servant was opening up to her. It appeared as though she had some measure of free will.

"If something happens to you two, I'll be left here all alone," the Other Coraline continued. "You are both my friends, and I don't want to lose you." Genuine warmth could be heard under her words, and Coraline's heart went out to this thing... this person.

"Come with us," she finally whispered.

A grim expression crossed the other girl's face. "I can't, Coraline. I am a part of this place."

The girl in question sighed dejectedly. Wybie was mad with her, and the Other Coraline refused to help her. She truly was alone in this world.

"I know what the cat said to you," the Other Coraline piped up suddenly. "There is a secret basement in that house. To find it, you'll need five keys, in quick succession."

The girl looked at her in surprise, but the living doll simply continued to play the piano as if nothing had happened. "...Thank you," she finally said, nodding in understanding. She made her way over to the other door in the room, which opened out into the garden, and stole out into the night.

* * *

><p>The townhouse looked as imposing as ever as Coraline stood on the front lawn looking up at it, the bicycle she had used to ride down the hill lying forgotten at her feet. Her rain-boots crunched on the grass as she slowly walked up to the front door. After a moment of hesitation, she twisted the doorknob and the door swung open with that horrible groaning sound which echoed throughout the house's dark interior.<p>

As soon as Coraline stepped beyond the threshold, the door swung closed behind her.

As she cautiously made her way down the hallway, a strange echoing sound caught her attention. It was almost like an eerie, ghostly whisper...

She turned her head to look through the doorway into the dining room, but when she looked back, she shrieked in fear.

A dark figure stood at the end of the hallway.

It stood there for less than a second, before vanishing through the door behind it, but the girl could still discern the braided hair and sad button eyes on the downcast face.

The house fell silent once more.

Coraline rested her hand on the wall and waited a minute for her heart to stop racing. Once her legs felt less like rubber, she willed herself forward, toward the door that the figure had disappeared through.

In the seconds that it took her to grab the doorknob and turn it, a heavy feeling of dread came crashing down upon her. Something just did not feel right.

By then, however, it was too late, and the door swung open to reveal a familiar room, cast in moonlight from a lonely window. The piano stood against the wall, untouched. Her heartbeat increased as she approached it, remembering the Other Coraline's words.

"Five keys, in quick succession," she murmured to herself.

She lowered her hands to the piano, took a deep breath and silently recited the keys to herself as she played them.

_ D... E... B A B..._

A loud groaning echoed throughout the room as a section of the far wall swung outward, revealing a hidden doorway. Her heart pounding in her chest, Coraline approached the opening to find a rickety wooden staircase, leading down into pitch darkness.

Switching on the flashlight she had brought with her, the blue-haired girl angled the light down the stairs, only to find that it vanished around a corner. Taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, she slowly made her way down the staircase. The steps were deep and uneven, and each one creaked under her rain-boots. She very much wished that Wybie was with her at that moment.

Upon reaching the landing at the bottom and rounding the corner, the cone of light revealed, at the bottom of another staircase, a worn wooden door – its white paint chipped and peeling. The creaking of the steps sounded deafening to Coraline in the otherwise complete silence.

Presently, she reached the door, the feeling of dread in her stomach manifesting itself into near-panic.

However, her thoughts returned to the Beldam and her twisted plans, no doubt already moving to capture another child. The witch needed be stopped. This old staircase had to lead somewhere. Thus, with renewed resolve, the girl turned the handle and pushed the door open.

Unlike every other door in this decrepit old house, there was no creaking or groaning of the hinges. The door swung open to dead silence.

The cone of light from the flashlight revealed a large room with a dusty concrete floor, surrounded by four walls of jagged, uneven red brick, the cement between them yellowing with artificial age. There was absolutely nothing else in the room, which only served to make the room seem bigger.

Coraline could not understand. Why was she down here?

She slowly wondered through the darkened room, checking every wall, every distant corner for something – anything. Her footsteps echoed throughout the dark room, but there was nothing to be found. Absolutely nothing.

_What the heck is going on?_ she thought to herself angrily. _Did the Other Coraline lead me down into this basement for nothing? Did she lie to me?_

Something about the room just did not feel right.

When she turned to leave, a jolt of fear shot through her.

Standing at the doorway were two dark figures, blocking her only way out.


	20. Chapter 19: The Lost: Part II

**Chapter 19: The Lost: Part II**

* * *

><p>Coraline cried out in fear, backing away from the doorway. There was nowhere she could go. The pair of figures eyed her down. At least, that was what it felt like. There was no way of knowing, as they had no eyes.<p>

"W-Who are you?" she called out, even though she began to have her suspicions.

For a moment, there was no answer. However, a small voice finally echoed throughout the room. "We don't remember our names."

"They are gone," the other shadow echoed. "Lost. Just like us."

"Your names can't be lost, because I remember them," Coraline said, bravely standing her ground as she faced the shade on the left. "Your name is Joshua. You came to me in my dreams." She then turned toward the other figure, racking her brains as she tried to remember the name in the newspaper her mother had been reading. "And your name is... Emily. You're the missing girl from Chicago."

The two shadows exchanged a glance, as if wondering whether the blue-haired girl's words were true.

"It's the truth!" she pleaded. "You aren't lost, because I remember you both! And your parents miss you very much!"

For a long while, there was a dark silence. But then, both at once, the pair of figures began to glow. As their bodies lit up, the girl could discern that they were two small children, both of them with buttons for eyes.

One of them was a boy in tattered clothes, dirt smudged on his face, and messy hair sticking out in several places. The other was a young girl, wearing a Sunday dress. Her braided hair hung about her shoulders, framing a pretty, but forlorn face. It was then that Coraline knew it was the same little girl she saw in the front window, and where she had seen her before. Emily's photo had been plastered all over the newspapers after she disappeared in Chicago weeks ago.

The light from the apparitions lit up the room slightly, basking the dark place in a pale aura.

Coraline had not known what to expect, but the last thing she anticipated was the button-eyed boy whooping as he did a summersault in the air. He then _zipped_ all around the room, up and through walls, his laughter echoing in the air.

For her part, Emily stood quietly, but the small smile that appeared on her face was filled with gratitude. "Thank you," she finally addressed Coraline. "Our names were a part of us, and they were stolen. But you gave them back."

"Y-You're welcome..." she said, at a loss of what else to say.

"We owe you one!" Joshua cried, finally appearing next to her after his euphoria-fuelled energy.

"You don't owe me anything," she replied genuinely.

"So why are you down here?" he asked, scuffing a transparent, ghostly shoe against the ground. "This is where she keeps you after she's grown bored of you. But you still have some time left, don't you?"

"No I don't. Not really." The blue-haired girl remembered what the Other Coraline had said about the hunger in the Beldam's eyes. Her and Wybie's time was running out fast. "But I'm getting out of here. And I want to free you both as well."

"To do that, you'll need to find our eyes, miss," Emily said sheepishly. "It's what she took from us. What you seek is not lost. Rather, it is hidden away this time around, in her most sacred shrine."

Coraline shivered when she realised exactly where the ghost girl was talking about. Why, oh why did they have to be hidden there?

As she spoke, unlike the rest of her pale, transparent appearance, Emily's button eyes appeared to be filling out with colour, finally turning a brilliant shade of blue that reminded Coraline of the eyes of her own friend, Miranda. It was then that she noticed Joshua's button eyes were also filling with colour. It was a familiar shade of green – one she had seen before, back in the Other Mother's workshop.

"Good luck," Joshua said as he started to fade away. "I hope you make it."

"Wait!" the girl shouted, but he was already gone. She turned back toward Emily to see that she was fading out of existence as well.

"Don't forget about your charm," the blue button-eyed girl said, motioning to the silvery chain around Coraline's neck. "The Beldam doesn't have many weaknesses, but you are holding one of them."

"This?" Coraline grasped the spike pendant, frowning in confusion. "How is this thing going to help me?"

"It won't. Not in its current form," Emily replied wisely, almost completely transparent now. "But this world is different from ours, and that allows things to take on their true forms. That is why the Beldam can change shapes. But the same thing can happen for others as well."

The hazel-eyed girl held onto the pendant, feeling renewed hope come through her. "I promise I'll get you both out of here," she whispered. "You deserve to be put to rest."

The ghost child smiled in gratitude, before cocking her head to look toward the ceiling of the dingy room. "A friend is waiting for you upstairs. He was hoping you would find this place." She gave her new friend one final nod, and then vanished.

* * *

><p>Coraline burst through the front door of the townhouse, after having dashed up the rickety stairs, out of the secret basement and through the dusty rooms. She knew what she had to do, and there was no time to lose.<p>

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a familiar figure waiting for her on the front lawn, with a brass key hanging from a string around his neck.

"I must say, you've overcome my rather low expectations of humans," the cat said, a glint of humour in his vast blue eyes.

"Right back at ya," Coraline shot back, smiling. "I always thought you were a mangy animal, but you're a lot smarter than you look." She gestured at the key dangling from the cat's neck, hardly daring to believe. "Is that what I think it is…?"

"You weren't the only one watching and gathering intelligence on the workshop. I slipped it out of her pocket, right under her nose." The black feline stood up and stretched his back, his fur bristling slightly. "Rather stupid of the witch to let you in, really, but she's grown overconfident."

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." The girl took the key and slipped it into one of the pockets on her raincoat. "I have to get back there."

"You'd better hurry," her friend replied.

* * *

><p>The door to the workshop creaked open much louder than she liked. Coraline had not seen the Beldam – or anyone, for that matter – around the Pink Palace when she got back from the doll-house recreation of Ashland. It was as though the place was completely deserted. But she still did not want to take any chances.<p>

Although Coraline was still mad at him, she hoped Wybie was at his house and safe.

She pulled the brass key from the keyhole and looked around for a place to hide it. She eventually settled for hiding it under the carpet that ran the length of the upstairs hall. She was not sure why, but she had a feeling that it was incredibly important for her to hang on to the key.

The dusty workshop stood before her, and she made a beeline for the workbench in the middle, opening the drawer. The compartments of buttons greeted her, and the headstrong girl immediately saw what she was looking for: a pair of buttons of a rich aquamarine colour – the same colour as the button eyes on Emily's ghostly visage.

She slowly picked up the buttons and felt the dead girl's presence immediately. They were definitely what she was looking for. She placed them carefully on the bench-top and then turned her attention back to the drawer, seeing a single green button in the top-left corner. However, the other one was missing.

_ Where is it?_

Coraline racked her brains, trying to remember what could have happened to the other ghost eye of Joshua. She remembered picking it up and looking at it, and then… she had dropped it…

"Rats!" she cursed, dropping down onto her knees and peering under the workbench. Sure enough, the other button was there, lying on the dusty floor. She reached desperately for the dropped green button, her shoulder screaming in protest as she stretched her arm out as far as it could go.

After what felt like an eternity of reaching, her fingers closed around the plastic disc, and she carefully put it into her pocket.

_ BANG!_

The sound of the door slamming shut caused the girl to scream in shock and instinctively jerk her head up. This unfortunately caused her to bash it on the bottom of the workbench.

"Owww!" she groaned, grasping the top of her head in pain.

However, when she looked behind her toward the door, her heart plummeted.

There, in all her terrible glory, stood the avatar of her mother. Only it was not her mother anymore. The figure was tall and distorted, and incredibly thin. Her fingers were like sticks, and her nails were long and wickedly sharp. On top of an unnaturally long and thin neck was a pointed and elongated head. Beneath the two black button eyes, narrowed in rage, her lips were twisted in a menacing scowl.

"Coraline," the Beldam said, her voice low and dangerous. "I am terribly disappointed in you."


	21. Chapter 20: The Lost: Part III

**Chapter 20: The Lost: Part III**

* * *

><p>Coraline gasped in pain when she was brutally thrown up against the wall, the twisted form of her mother's face right in front of her.<p>

"WHERE IS THE KEY?" she screamed, her voice thundering throughout the room.

Her ward pursed her lips, refusing to say anything. However, they parted as she cried out in pain when the Beldam slammed her hard against the wall again.

"I asked you a question!" the monster bellowed. "Your disgusting vermin friend must have thought he was _real_ clever, stealing the key from me. We'll see just how smug he is when I skin him alive!"

Coraline's arms were in agony as the witch's sticklike fingers tightened around them like a vice. She inadvertently shot a glance toward the three buttons lying on top of the workbench. Unfortunately, the Beldam followed her gaze. Impossibly, her gaze darkened even further.

"Who told you where the ghost eyes were?" she screamed. "WHO TOLD YOU?!"

Coraline stared defiantly back.

"Very well," the Beldam seethed. "If you refuse the answer my questions like a good little girl, then I suppose I will just have to extract the information from you, whether you want to give it up or not."

The girl's eyes widened in horror.

The monster grinned in wicked glee. "It was all for moot, you realise. Even if you know where the ghost eyes are, there will be no escape from my world. Not while I am alive. But if there is a single inhabitant of my dominion who is not loyal to me, then they must be purged immediately."

Without another word, she swept from the room, dragging Coraline along with her. The girl cried out and struggled against her, but the woman only tightened her grip further. They made their way down the stairs, and, without the slightest hesitation, the Beldam _hurled_ the girl at the mirror.

She cried out as she flew through the rippling wall and painfully hit the floor of the cell on the other side, sliding several feet.

"Coraline!" a familiar voice shouted.

She lifted her head from the floor to see her mop-haired companion shackled to the wall. "Wybie! Are you okay?"

Before he could answer, green light filled the room, as, like a nightmare, the spindly limbs of the Beldam emerged from the far wall. She stepped into the mirror cell, her button eyes glaring at the two children.

"I can see now that I have been wasting my time trying to get you two to cooperate," she said, her voice simmering with rage. "Souls are easier to feed upon when they have lost their spirit. But I can see that you two _pesky_ little children aren't going to lose the fight in you. So I will just have to purge it from you myself."

Wybie and Coraline's eyes widened fearfully as they imagined what was coming.

The next chapter of their nightmare was confirmed when a second figure entered the room. Wybie gaped in terror at the horrifying visage of his grandmother. Gone was the kind, elderly woman who had made him peanut-butter snaps only this afternoon. Now, she looked positively ghoulish, sawdust spilling from open wounds as her canvas skin peeled and flaked, and one of her button eyes dangled from her face on loosened thread.

"Take the boy back to his house, and get a needle and thread ready," the Beldam said, her eyes never leaving Coraline's. "My daughter has a strong spirit, but seeing her friend with buttons for eyes will be sure to help in rectifying that."

The zombified Other Grandma nodded silently, and her 'grandson' moaned in fear when she unshackled him from the wall and pulled him toward the shimmering green portal in an iron grip.

The Beldam did not spare him a second glance. "When I come over, Wybie, try not to cry too much. It will be harder to sew buttons into your eyes when they're full of tears. It will only make it more painful for you."

"You can't!" Coraline screamed. "You can't take his soul by force! You'll be breaking the laws of Purgatory!"

"Don't talk to _me_ about breaking rules, you dirty little _cheat_," the woman hissed venomously, slapping her brutally across the cheek. "I am above the laws of Purgatory now."

* * *

><p>The sky dimmed, as, like tiny light-bulbs, the stars blinked out of existence. The darkness grew ever deeper as the huge shadow eclipsed the moon further. The beauty and wonder of the Other World seemed to fade away, only to be replaced by menace and shadow.<p>

"P-Please, Grandma! It's me!" Wybie exclaimed, struggling in vain to pull his arm out of her hold. "Please don't do this!"

"I am not your grandmother, Wyborne," the ghoulish puppet replied in a gravelly tone, as she unceremoniously dragged him toward the copy of his house. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

She guided him into the house and to the kitchen, pinned his arms to his side and tied him to a chair. The boy struggled against the ropes, but then momentarily forgot everything when the zombie woman placed a box on the kitchen table in front of him. He gulped when he looked inside and saw a needle, thread and two shiny black buttons.

"W-W-Will it hurt?" he murmured.

"…No," the Beldam's servant replied.

However, Wybie knew she was lying. He hung his head as he silently began to cry.

* * *

><p>The mirror cell was cast in complete darkness, but that did not stop Coraline from pounding against the wall with her fists and boots with all her might. She knew that it was futile – that the Beldam had left to "refresh herself", that the wall was completely solid again, and there was no way out – but she continued anyway.<p>

Tears of frustration and worry stained her face as she knew that Wybie facing the needle and thread was all her fault. If she had not angered the Beldam, things might have gone differently.

"Evil witch! _Let me out!_" she screamed. "It's _my_ fault! Let Wybie go! Take me instead!"

It appeared that her calls had been answered when the wall before her suddenly glowed and she stumbled right through it, landing in a heap on the wooden floor of the hallway on the other side. She groaned and lifted her head, expecting to see the nightmarish hag poised above her.

What she saw instead, however, was her button-eyed copy offering a hand to her. She took it and climbed to her feet.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Helping a friend," the Other Coraline said softly.

She smiled as she pressed three buttons into the other girl's hand. Coraline looked down and saw that they were the ghost eyes of Emily and Joshua. She reverently placed them in the pocket of her raincoat, reuniting all four of them.

"I want to help you to stop her," the living doll continued. "Once she's gone, you and Wybie will be safe. And then we can all live happily here forever!"

Coraline's heart went out to this being. The last thing she wanted was to use the puppet girl's humanity against her, but...

"Sure we can," she replied, her voice laced with guilt. "I promise."

The Other Coraline's face lit up, and she her figure practically bubbled with excitement. Suddenly, she tilted her head upward, toward the ceiling. "Mother is changing her shape," she said lowly, her smile fading. She whirled back toward her counterpart. "You have to go save Wybie now! I'll stall her!"

"But you could die!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed in spite of herself.

"I'll be fine," the doll insisted, pushing her compatriot toward the front door. "Hurry!"

As the front door closed behind her, Coraline considered going back to help her. However, a shadow creeping across the ground caused her to look up toward the moon. Only a sliver of it was visible now, while the rest of the sky was an endless black abyss.

...Only, it was not a sea of endless black.

Fine hairline cracks of white could be seen streaking through the sky in the distance.

Upon seeing that, the fiery girl raced down the hill toward her friend's house. There was no time to lose.

* * *

><p>The door creaked loudly as it was opened. Coraline peered cautiously down the dark hallway to see light spilling from the kitchen. She slowly crept down the path, her shallow breathing the only sound to be heard.<p>

What if the Other Coraline was wrong, and the Beldam was already here? What if she had already gotten to Wybie...?

Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw her friend. He was facing away from her, sitting tied up in one of the kitchen chairs.

"Wybie!"

Coraline started forward, but then felt a clawed hand around her shoulder. She screamed as she flew backwards through the darkness, away from the warm light of the kitchen and her friend.

"I'm afraid I can't allow a _horrible_ little girl like you to play with my grandson anymore," a voice rasped in her ear. "You're too much of a bad influence on him."

The last thing she saw, before she was thrust back out into the darkened hallway, was the gaunt, ghostly-looking face of a ghoulish old woman, before the sliding door slammed shut, sealing her off from the kitchen.

"No!" Coraline cried, tugging on the door with all of her might. She had no idea how long she tried, but the door was closed fast. Suddenly, she heard footsteps in the hallway behind her, and whirled to see the Other Miranda standing there, a wide grin on her face.

"Gee, lookee here!" the button-eyed girl trilled shrilly. "The girl you thought was your friend... She's actually the faithful servant of the Beldam!"

Abruptly, her expression grew more sinister, and Coraline took an inadvertent step back.

"Golly, I was hoping we could settle things peacefully, but... too bad!" The puppet servant clapped her hands together, before her button eyes narrowed in anger, her smile fading. "Oh, you wanna make things ugly, huh? Well, that's just super. Let's get ugly."

A loud _CRACK_ echoed throughout the hall, startling Coraline. She looked on in horror as four limbs sprouted from the doll girl's back, the long, spindly joints ending in sharp needles, sewn on with deep-blue thread.

However, the terrible mutation did not end there.

The horrific cracking continued, sawdust spilling everywhere, as the doll's legs split open into four spiderlike appendages. Like the claws on her back, the Other Miranda's new legs also ended in terrible needles, gouging deep scratches in the worn wooden floor. The terrified girl imagined those points ripping into her flesh.

The Other Miranda towered over her prey, a horrific grin returning to her face. "So you escaped from the mirror cell, huh? I guess I'll congratulate you… by tearing you into little bits!"

Without warning, she tilted her head skyward and screamed. It was a terrible sound – shrill, grating, and piercing to the core. Picture frames that hung from the wall rattled. Coraline clapped her hands to her ears and fled through the closest doorway and away from the nightmarish figure, running through a large lounge as fast as her legs could carry her.

Where could she hide?

Abruptly, everything went quiet. The dead silence that now hung in the air was even more terrifying than the inhuman scream that once filled the house. However, the sounds that came next were even worse.

The clacking of needles on the floor somewhere nearby.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" the Other Miranda called in a sing-song voice.

Coraline dashed for a nearby door and closed it quietly behind her, leaning up against it as she listened out for the predator. The clacking continued for some time, moving to and fro, but it seemed as though the creature was moving away from the room.

After some time, the sounds ceased entirely, and absolute silence descended once more.

Coraline slowly relaxed, and let out a soft breath in relief.

A huge needle claw smashed through the door, rending wood as a horrible scream split the air.


	22. Chapter 21: The Approaching Storm

**Chapter 21: The Approaching Storm**

* * *

><p>Coraline screamed as the claw smashed through the door, right above her head. A little lower and she would have been dead.<p>

"_Yes!_ Scream for me!" the deranged voice of the Other Miranda shouted from the other room.

The terrified girl stumbled away from the door, which shook with terrible force as it was assailed by the monster's claws over and over again. She looked desperately around the dark room, but there was no other way out.

She was trapped...

A peal of insane laughter could be heard as the hole in the door widened, showing the button-eyed creature on the other side. _"Peek-a-boo!"_

In her desperation, Coraline turned toward the window, ready to leap from it if she had to. However, peering through the curtains gave her a surprise. The hairline cracks of white she had seen in the distant sky before had widened considerably. They appeared to be ripping a hole in the fabric of the Beldam's world. Just outside the window, an endless white void was opening.

There would be no escaping that way.

Coraline was surprised by this. It appeared that the Beldam was weakening much quicker than she had thought if her hold on this world was already breaking.

A splintering crack brought her mind back to the situation, as the door was torn completely asunder by Miranda's probing claws and tossed aside. The monstrosity stepped slowly and deliberately into the darkened room, smiling sadistically as she stared down her prey.

Oh, how she would suffer. She would be sure to make her death as slow as possible.

"Any last requests?" she asked casually, as though it was a question about the weather.

"I don't suppose you'd let me go?" Coraline asked. When she received a shake of the head in response, she sighed. "That's what I thought."

It was then that she ripped open the curtains covering the window. The Other Miranda screeched in surprise as the searing brightness of the white void right outside the house burned into her button eyes, blinding her. Her limbs flailing irritably at the light, she staggered backwards, bumping into a tall, heavy bookcase. Time seemed to slow as a soft groaning filled the air, slowly increasing in intensity as the shelves tilted. All too late, the spiderlike creature turned, just as the heavy piece of furniture came crashing down on top of her.

Without wasting any time, and not daring to stick around to see if the thing was dead, Coraline bolted past the fallen bookcase and back out to the hallway.

"Wybie!" she shouted, banging on the still-closed kitchen door. "Can you hear me?"

When a familiar voice answered, she sighed in relief. "Jonesy! The backdoor is open!"

"Okay! I'm coming!" she answered, but then yelped in surprise when the wall at far end of the hallway exploded. Splinters of wood arced through the air as the hole widened, showing the gaping white void on the other side. Wybie's house was on the verge of collapsing into the abyss.

Against her better judgement, Coraline peered out through the hole, shielding her eyes against the rushing wind, to see a narrow ledge of grass and dirt clinging to the side of the house.

It would be borderline suicide, but there was no other way.

Taking a deep breath, the plucky girl stepped out of the house and onto the grassy ledge, beginning to inch her way across toward the backdoor. The endless expanse of nothing yawned below her.

_Don't look down... Don't look down..._

The whole ordeal seemed to last an eternity, although in reality, it probably took no more than a few minutes. Finally, her rain-boots touched down on the steps, and she bolted through the door into the kitchen. A huge smile appeared on her face when she saw Wybie sitting at the table before her.

"Jonesy," he began, "I'm so sorry – "

"Don't worry about it," she said, coming to his side and untying him. "I'm sorry too."

Before anything more could be said, there was a terrible crash as the back wall of the kitchen was ripped away by the widening void. Wybie shouted in shock, and Coraline felt someone tackling her from the side.

"NO! You will _not_ take my grandson away from me!" the thing that was once Mrs Lovat shrieked, her rotting face twisted in anger.

The young girl gasped for air as the bony fingers closed in around her throat, choking her. The deafening roar and rushing wind grew ever louder as the hole in the back of the house drew closer and closer, swallowing up the floor. She was on the edge of falling into the void.

The old woman tightened her hold, but suddenly relinquished her grip on the girl's neck and recoiled, caterwauling in pain as her hands hissed and steamed. The fabric melted away as ashen sawdust spilled out onto the kitchen floor. Before she could recover, Wybie came up from behind and gave her the hardest push he could muster. The button-eyed woman screamed as she teetered over the edge and fell into the endless abyss.

Coraline looked on in shock for a moment, and then raised a hand to her neck to find out what had caused her attacker's hands such trauma. When she felt the light chain and iron pendant, she smiled. "Oh, Ms Spink... Thank you..." she whispered.

"A-Are you alright?" Wybie asked, helping her to her feet.

"I'm fine," she replied, giving him a grateful hug. "Let's go. We have to get out of here."

With the hole at their backs swallowing up the rear end of the house, the only way out was the through the sealed kitchen doors. Wybie ran over and tugged at them in vain, while his blue-haired friend looked around for something that could be used to pry them open.

"These doors are on lockdown," he grunted, releasing his grip on the door handle. "We need something to – "

There was a terrible _CRASH_ as a twisted scythe of gleaming metal pierced the wooden portal, coming inches from impaling Wybie too. A second claw smashed the doors aside completely, revealing the nightmarish figure of Miranda. Wybie cried out in pain as the strike swept him aside and into the wall.

Her encounter with the falling bookcase had not left her unscathed – her head was partially crushed, along with one of her arms. Three of the claws that sprouted from her back hung uselessly. One of her needle legs was broken and twisted beyond repair, dragging behind her.

At that moment, however, all Coraline registered was the feral snarl of animalistic rage on the beast's face, and her blood ran cold.

She _screamed_ as she came at her. "YOU WILL BEG ME FOR DEATH!"

Coraline yelped and threw herself out of the way as the one remaining claw flashed through the air. The entire kitchen table buckled and snapped under the force of the blow, scraps of wood sent spinning.

"COME ON! DON'T YOU WANT TO PLAY?" the Other Miranda thundered at her prey, settling into strange scuttle.

The girl grasped for her necklace and pulled it off, the chain pooling into her palm. She looked up at the monster and threw it at her. "Here, catch!"

Miranda instinctively grabbed at the object, but then shrieked and dropped it as her hand steamed, all but burned away by the iron. She clutched at her appendage, screaming in pain, her needle legs flailing about her.

Coraline wasted no time, dashing forward, crouching down and making a grab for the discarded pendant on the floor. She shifted her weight to the side when one of Miranda's legs jabbed down where she had been a moment ago, tearing a hole through the side of her raincoat. It was not been a deliberate action, however – the creature was too consumed in her pain.

The girl gritted her teeth and crawled under the stabbing needle legs, breathing a sigh of relief when her fingers closed in around the cold metal of the necklace.

"Wybie, come on!" she cried as she ran over to her friend, helping him to his feet. The creaking and groaning throughout the house grew louder as it teetered on the edge of the abyss. "We've gotta run!"

The children ran for their lives down the hallway toward the front door. The clacking of metal on wood drew the girl's gaze over her shoulder to see the Other Miranda scuttling after them, fury blazing in her eyes. No words came from the raving figure, only a vicious rasping. Coraline was terrified – never before had she seen something bearing down on her with such an intense promise of retribution. She knew that she would pay dearly once the spiderlike creature caught them.

So she ran harder. Her body ached, her lungs felt dry, and her heart fluttered wildly. The hallway creaked and groaned, cracks of white in the wood and carpet widening as it collapsed around them. But she kept on running.

She had to.

The floorboards beneath their feet began to lose their feeling of solidity. Time was up.

Fortunately for them, the front door to Wybie's house stood before them. Without missing a beat, Wybie drove his shoulder into it, pushing it aside and leaving the way clear. Coraline was on his heels a moment later. They barrelled out of the house and down onto the grass at the bottom of the front steps.

She dared a look back.

The Beldam's servant was not so lucky. The house literally hung in mid-air above the ring of white that encircled them. But no longer. Wooden boards, shutters, chairs, books, toys and furniture flew into the air as it caved in on itself, becoming one with the abyss.

The Other Miranda hung in mid-air for a moment, her limbs flailing for purchase on solid ground but finding none. Her scream of anger became one of fear as she plummeted into the void, becoming a tiny pinprick in the endless white, and then vanished completely.

* * *

><p>The pair of children were tired. Tired beyond belief, as a matter of fact. They took shelter from probing eyes in the ring of trees nearby to where Wybie's house had been. The blinding white of the ever-encroaching void of Purgatory drew in toward the place where it all began.<p>

The Pink Palace.

The mansion stood in the distance - tall, dark and foreboding. The Beldam was no doubt waiting for them.

With the white void at their backs, the shrinking space of the Beldam's dominion stood before them, shrouded in darkness as the moon hung directly above them, barely a sliver visible.

Wybie had absolutely no idea how they were going to defeat her, and it seemed that Coraline did not know either, given her despondent manner. They sat in silence on a fallen log, catching their breaths as they waited for their hearts to stop racing.

The silence stretched on, broken only by the snapping of tree trunks as the ground beneath them crumbled into the encroaching abyss.

"What were your dreams, Wybie?" Coraline asked suddenly.

He looked at her with a peculiar expression. "Huh?"

"Your goals. What were they?"

His brown eyes met her hazel ones, and he fidgeted with his hands. "I, uh, w-well, I… don't really have any, I…" When he saw his friend frown slightly, he racked his brains for anything that would make him sound less lame. "I-I guess… being an explorer would be pretty cool."

"An explorer?" she repeated in mild surprise.

"Y-Yeah," he replied, sounding even more self-conscious than usual. "I mean, isn't that the sort of thing you're into?"

"Yeah, but I do have a life outside of exploring the woods. Or, I did."

She smiled sadly, almost in an expression of gallows-humour. Wybie found it unnerving – it was as if all the fight had gone out of her.

"…What do you want to do with your life?" he asked. When Coraline looked at him, he shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I-I mean, you asked me, so it's only fair if I ask you too..."

"I… I don't really know either. I kind of wanted to be a writer, I guess. Or maybe try and compete in the Olympics or something?"

As her mind churned through all the things she could to do with her life, her mood brightened. Wybie was sure he could see the ghost of a genuine smile forming on her face. He decided to press his advantage.

"We're going to get out of here," he put, plain and simple. "And we're both going to do the things we want to."

He wanted to take her hand in his in a gesture of reassurance, but found that he was unable to bring himself to do it. For whatever stupid reason. Coraline, however, seemed to understand and appreciate the gesture regardless, and she grinned. There even seemed to be a glint in her eye again. She found herself surprised by the boy's mature insight.

"Yeah, you're right!" she exclaimed. "That old hag won't win. We're going to beat her."

_For the dead children, and anyone else she might take in the future._

The shadow eclipsed the moon completely, further plunging what was left of the Other World into darkness.


	23. Chapter 22: You Know I Love You

**Chapter 22: You Know I Love You**

* * *

><p>The Other World was cast in total darkness, in complete contrast to the white void in the distance. It was as though two opposite energies were colliding.<p>

Coraline and Wybie walked slowly toward the Pink Palace, surrounded by absolute silence. Before long, the young girl stopped, gazing up the hill at the house in dread. Wybie saw that her lips tight, her eyebrows furrowed. That was when it dawned on him – she was scared. Coraline Jones was scared!

He smiled grimly and did what he should have done before – he took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, it's going to be okay," he said gently.

The normally fiery girl was surprised by the gesture, but appreciated it immensely. "I know we will."

Hand in hand, the pair continued walking; up toward the house, toward the Beldam. As they came closer, Coraline held onto Wybie's hand tighter and tighter, to the point of almost crushing it in a vice-like grip. It was all he could do not to cry out and try to withdraw his hand. But it was giving his friend support, something to hold onto, and that made the pain worth it.

Sort of.

"I have no idea where she'll be hiding once we get inside, so we have to work fast," Coraline began in a low voice. "Get to the sitting room and make sure the entrance doors stay open."

"What about the key for the little door?" Wybie asked. "We won't be able to escape without it."

"Oh, I think I know where it is," she replied. "Something that Emily – the ghost girl – told me."

Her friend cast her a perplexed expression. "Uh, you see dead people Jonesy? Are you sure that's normal – ?"

"Just trust me!" she hissed back.

It was then that they found themselves standing before the entrance of the Pink Palace. Coraline took a deep breath and made her way up the steps and onto the porch. As they came toward it, the front door clicked open and swung slightly ajar, seemingly inviting them in.

The two children exchanged glances, and then entered the mansion.

* * *

><p>They found themselves standing in the darkened hallway. All of the lights were either out, or dimmed, and slowly darkening further. The house lay in complete silence, aside from the children's heavy breathing. Their footsteps were padded on the pale rug that ran the length of the corridor, and the exposed polished floorboards near the walls had a murky shine in the fading light.<p>

After a moment, Coraline gently nudged Wybie down the hallway toward the sitting room. Looking around the corner, she could see that the double-doors lay open to total darkness beyond, but at least they were open. Things had to stay that way.

She turned to make her way upstairs to grab the thing that she needed, but, as an afterthought, turned back and gave Wybie a quick hug. The boy stared at her in shock.

"Be careful," she whispered.

"You too."

With that, they parted ways.

Coraline crept up the staircase, hoping that the Beldam was still in her workshop. If so, then it was a straight shot from here to freedom. Her heart pounding in her chest, she glanced around the upstairs hall. It was pitch black, so she switched on her flashlight and swung it around, her eyes probing the darkness.

There was nothing to be seen, and so the girl took a cautious step onto the landing, half-expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

No such moment came.

As such, Coraline slowly made her way down the dark hallway toward the Beldam's workshop once more. Halfway down the corridor, she knelt down and reached under the carpet, hoping to whatever god that may exist that it was still there.

It was.

The blue-haired girl smiled in triumph as her hand closed around the cold brass of the key to the Beldam's workshop. However, that was not the place she was headed. She remembered Emily's words:

"_...this world is different from ours, and that allows things to take on their true forms. That is why the Beldam can change shapes. But the same thing can happen for others as well."_

Coraline closed her eyes and focused her mind on the key for the little door; the large, black button-shaped key, which held with it all their prospects for freedom.

When she opened her eyes, tears of joy sprang into the corners of them.

Sitting in her hand was the button-shaped key to the little door.

* * *

><p>Wybie's breath hitched in his throat as he crept down the main hallway toward the sitting room, wanting nothing more than to escape this nightmare. He found himself understanding why Coraline had been tempted to stay behind the first time – the Other World was an enchanting place; strange and beautiful.<p>

But it was all a trap.

He paused when he heard some strange noises coming from the sitting room. Taking a deep breath, he switched on his flashlight and peered around the corner and through the doorway. What he saw shocked him.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of the dark room, her knees pulled up into her chest, was the Other Coraline, her entire body shaking as she rocked back and forth. "Please make it stop..." she whispered. "The voices... they hurt..."

Wybie started forward to comfort her, but stopped dead when he heard a strange scuttling sound above him.

He looked up.

What he saw next would haunt him until the end of his days.

Directly above him was a nightmarish figure, her spiderlike body clinging to the ceiling with sharp metal claws. Gone was the doppelganger of Mrs Jones. In her place was a terrifying monster, her button eyes blazing with hatred and contempt; her cracked white face twisted in a hideous grin.

She _screamed_ as she came down at him.

Wybie's quick reflexes, developed from years of riding on a death-trap of a motorcycle, were the only thing that saved him.

He threw himself forward and out of the way, landing just beyond the threshold of the sitting room. The Beldam's claws stabbed through the carpet into the floorboards where he had been standing only a second ago.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO HORRIBLE LITTLE BOYS?!" she thundered as she rushed at the doorway. "YOU'RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT!"

Wybie stepped forward, slammed the doors closed and pushed against them with all of his weight. A shuddering crash came moments later. The doors buckled inward, but, miraculously held closed.

The Beldam shrieked furiously. She lifted a needle hand and stabbed it through one of the doors, causing Wybie to cry out – either in fear or in pain. The sound was music to her ears.

It was then that the girl's voice cried from the far end of the hallway.

"Leave him alone!"

The Beldam slowly untangled herself from the doorway and turned to face the blue-haired girl. She stood in the middle of the hallway next to the staircase, holding a black key in one hand and a necklace in the other, the silvery chain dangling from her clenched fist.

The witch scowled when she saw the objects. Even more so when she realised that the necklace bore a small spike pendant of _iron_.

However, she relaxed and drew herself to her full height, a small smile crossing her lips. "Really, Coraline. Do you honestly think you'll be able to stop me with that puny spike of yours? I thought you were smarter than this."

The girl did not answer, instead choosing to close her eyes and remember Emily's last words. She needed the pendant to take on its true form.

Her hazel eyes shot open in surprise when there was a sudden drop of dead weight in her hand, and what she saw shocked her further.

The spike pendant had transformed into a large, gleaming and circular handle. From the end protruded a twelve-inch spike. Coraline gulped, carefully slipped the button key into a pocket on her yellow raincoat, and then took the handle of the weapon with both hands to steady herself with the hefty object.

As soon as she did, there was a loud _WHOOSH_, and the spike spun and shot further out, spinning out into a slender metre-long lance.

The Beldam looked just as shocked as Coraline felt. When she recovered, she growled and settled herself into a squat stance, planting herself firmly in the middle of the hallway.

"Iron lance or not, you're not leaving this place alive."

The hallway exploded with noise a moment later as the Beldam launched herself at her prey, her claws clashing with the lance with a ringing _CLANG_ that sent sparks flying. She drew back and thrust her needle hands through the air in a lightning fast swipe, trying to take the girl's head off.

Coraline gasped with the shock of the blow and jumped back, narrowly avoiding the decapitating blow. She steadied her hold on the lance and thrust it forward as hard as she could. As clumsy as the blow was, the Beldam still shrieked in pain when the tip of the spear pierced her shoulder. Black blood oozed from the hissing wound.

The spiderlike entity snarled as she fell back, her needle legs clacking on the floorboards.

She stabbed her claws into the wall and began to scale it, climbing up to the hallway ceiling. Coraline gripped the lance tightly as she turned her gaze upward, eyeing her opponent warily. However, the light fixtures on the ceiling suddenly went out, plunging the house into total darkness.

"Oh, _crud!_" the terrified girl whispered.

She stood there, scared out of her mind and at a total loss of what to do. Her enemy was out there, but she had no idea where she was. The house was completely silent and still. Suddenly, Coraline remembered her flashlight that was clipped to the belt around her skirt.

She carefully transferred the lance to her left hand and then slowly reached for her light. She grasped the handle and flicked it on.

"_AHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

An insane scream shattered the stillness of the darkness and Coraline felt her weapon knocked from her hands. Her heart plummeted as she was thrown to the floor. In the wild flailing of her flashlight, she caught glimpses of the button-eyed monster looming over her.

This was it.

It was over.

"YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

A hoarse battle-cry rang out in the dark hallway as Wybie charged at the beast that stood over his fallen friend, his flashlight swinging wildly as he raised the fire poker he had grabbed from the sitting room. He swung it down on the Beldam's back with all the force he could muster.

She roared in pain and turned, slashing at him with her needle hands. The blow drew sparks from the poker, and she backhanded the loathsome little boy, sending him crashing backward into a wall.

However, it was all the distraction Coraline needed. In the cones of light from the two flashlights, she spied the lance lying on the floor near the staircase, its spear having retracted back down into the hilt. She crawled toward it as fast as her aching body could handle.

The Beldam turned and saw her reaching for the weapon.

No such chance.

With supernatural speed, she lunged forward, her needle fingers poised and ready to impale the girl's body.

Coraline grasped the handle and brought it to her, turning on the floor and seeing the witch bearing down on her.

_WHOOSH!_

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up, her hazel eyes widening. The lance had extended out once more and pierced the Beldam's heart.

The monster stood stock-still, her button eyes widened in shock, pain and… regret. With a groan, she collapsed to the floor.

Coraline sat there in shock, her back against the staircase railings, not quite believing what had happened. Finally, she found her voice. "Wybie? Wybie, are you okay?"

After a moment, his shaky voice reply came from across the hallway, "Still in one piece… I think…"

Both children froze when a hoarse voice rattled out.

"C… Cora… line…"

For a moment, she considered getting up and running. But, finally, she croaked out, "I'm here."

"You know… I love… you," the Beldam choked. "I have always… loved you…"

"I know," Coraline said softly, shining her flashlight on the fallen being's face.

"I… just… did what I could… to make you… happy… I never wanted it… to come… to this…" The Beldam coughed, black blood dribbling from her mouth.

"I'm sorry," the girl replied, kneeling down beside the fallen Beldam.

"I know," she said, her voice strained. "I love you… Cora…line…"

"Yes, mother. I love you too."

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

If you want to get an idea of what Coraline's newfangled iron lance looks like, it kind of resembles the Valkyria lances from _Valkyria Chronicles_. Google search it and you'll see what I mean.

Holy crap, we're nearly at the end. A couple more chapters to go until everything is all wrapped up. Thank you to everyone for your support.


	24. Chapter 23: Requiem of Regret

**Chapter 23: Requiem of Regret**

* * *

><p>As the Beldam lay dying in the main hallway of the Other Pink Palace, the Other Coraline slowly lifted her head, gazing around the sitting room in wonder.<p>

"The voices… They're gone…" she said slowly, smiling in relief.

Wybie came over to Coraline as she kneeled down on the floor of the hallway, next to the body of the being who had tortured her mentally for months. This was the end of their nightmare.

"Come on," he said gently. "Are you ready to go home?"

His friend did not answer him for a moment, but finally raised her head and stood. "...Yeah." She spied her iron necklace lying below the Beldam's body and gingerly picked it up. It was hard to believe that such an innocuous object held within it such great power.

The house lay in total darkness, but, fortunately, the children's two flashlights allowed them to find their way back to the double doors that gave way to the sitting room. The beams of light cut a swath through the darkness and fell upon the button-eyed double of Coraline, who stood and appraised them with great happiness.

"You stopped her," the living doll said softly, smiling serenely. "You two are safe and sound, and now we're home. We can finally live here together, happily ever after."

Coraline swallowed, but managed to find her voice. "I'm sorry, but this isn't our home. We can't stay here."

Her doppelganger frowned. "But you said that we would all live here." Her voice rose. "You don't go back on promises!"

The hazel-eyed girl took a deep breath in an effort to steady herself. "Wybie and I can't stay here. This place is collapsing."

The Other Coraline brightened at those words. "Ah, but it doesn't have to." She looked pointedly at her real counterpart. "You can stop it."

"What is she talking about...?" Wybie whispered.

His friend did not answer him, but spoke with as resolute a voice as she could muster. "...I don't want to. I won't."

The doll's face went as dark as the rest of the house. "You mean you're going to leave me here? Well... I won't let you!"

Coraline's eyes widened when she saw the long-bladed knife appear in the being's hand. "Get out of the way!" she yelled at Wybie, pushing him back out into the hallway. She turned and fled across the passageway into the kitchen.

The voice of her doppelganger followed her. _"Oh, you want to play hide-and-seek, do you?"_

She gasped in pain when she stumbled into the kitchen table and turned back, taking a moment to catch her breath and regain her bearings. The room was pitch black, but she could not afford to turn on her flashlight again, for fear of giving away her position.

She took a careful step to her right, toward where she remembered the doorway to the dining room was.

She stopped when she heard _another_ footstep nearby.

The terrified girl paused and listened.

Silence.

She took another step, and once again heard her footsteps being mirrored.

It appeared that the Other Coraline knew where she was. If so, then there was no point in hiding anymore. She reached down to her belt where her flashlight was hanging and flicked it on.

However, there was no one else to be seen in the kitchen.

_ Where is she...?_

Wybie's scream of terror shattered the stillness of the dark house.

"Wybie!" Coraline cried, rushing over and wrenching open the sliding doors to the dining room. There, pressed up against the long table, she saw her friend struggling with a shadowy figure. The cold metal of the knife glinted in the cone of light from the girl's flashlight.

Without a spare thought for what might happen, she threw herself into the figure from the side, knocking her away. The Other Coraline screamed in anger.

"Get to the little door!" Coraline shouted to Wybie, reaching into the pocket of her raincoat and tossing the black key over her shoulder to him as she faced her button-eyed self.

"But – "

"Just _go!_ Get the door unlocked!"

As he stumbled off, the two girls, identical in likeness, faced each other down. They circled each other, the button-eyed one strategically manoeuvring herself in front of the way to the hallway.

Eventually, she wordlessly pointed toward the French doors that lined the external wall of the dining room. Looking back, past the glass, Coraline could see the menacing and jagged white cracks of the void as it approached the Pink Palace.

"Why would you go back?" the Other Coraline finally said. "You and I both know that you – _we_ – hate being ignored. Not being in control." She lifted her hands in a placating manner. "We can have what we want here. We can be in control. We'll never have to do anything we don't want to again."

The roar outside steadily increased in volume as the house began to shake. The floorboards began to crack and splinter.

"This world is real, and will always exist, whether you want it to or not," the doppelganger continued over the noise, seemingly oblivious to the house crumbling around them. "Stay with me, Coraline. Together, we can do anything."

The hazel-eyed girl stood in contemplation for a moment. "I'm sorry, but no matter how badly you want it to be true, you aren't me. You are not defined by me, and I am not defined by you. Those memories that the Beldam gave you – " She gestured to the twisted corpse of the creature lying in the hallway, "– they aren't real. And neither are you."

The Other Coraline's face twisted in anger at her counterpart's words, and she raised the knife threateningly. "I'll show you just how real I am!" she screamed as she lunged at her.

Coraline stood and faced her mirror as she came at her. At the last moment, she moved to the side and the button-eyed girl screamed as her momentum carried her forward – straight through one of the French doors. The glass shattered as she crashed right through it to the outside.

A howling wind swept into the house through the broken window.

Coraline scrambled to her feet and dashed for the hallway, gingerly sidestepping the Beldam's body. All around her, the house groaned as it fell apart, allowing more and more wind to come rushing in.

She came to the sitting room and saw Wybie, urgently motioning her toward the little opening in the wall.

"Go!" she shouted.

He nodded and began to crawl down the tunnel. Coraline arrived at it a moment later and crawled through the door.

The Other Coraline cried out as she came to sitting room entrance. She looked on in despair to see that the other two children had crossed the threshold of the small door, and there was nothing standing between them and the way home. All that was left was for them to crawl through the tunnel.

That was when she gave up and sat down cross-legged on the floor, sighing in defeat as the twisted replica of the Pink Palace crumbled around her. The cracks of white in the walls and floor widened, and the roar became deafening.

Coraline had begun to crawl down the tunnel, but something made her stop and turn back. She saw her double sitting there in the middle of the crumbling abyss.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted over the noise, sincerity and regret in her voice.

"I don't believe you," was all the Other Coraline said.

The void cracked open, swallowing what was left of the mansion, and the button-eyed girl vanished in a flash of light. Coraline felt her eyes welling up with tears, but was broken out of her reverie when Wybie yelled at her.

"Come _on_, Jonesy! We've gotta go!"

The dusty tunnel shook as the children crawled down it as fast as their hands and legs could carry them. The rushing and howling of the void screamed in their ears.

It felt like an eternity, but they eventually tumbled out of the tunnel into the sitting room of the real Pink Palace. Coraline slammed the little door shut, hoping that it would shut out the roar of the wind, and leaned her back against it.

_BOOM!_

The little door buckled outward as though it had been hit with tremendous force on the other side, and then everything went quiet.

The children looked uneasily at each other, and Wybie opened his fist to see the black button key crumbling into sand before his very eyes.

Coraline turned and slowly opened the small door to reveal a brick wall. She ran her hand over the rough blocks, knowing that, with the Beldam dead, the little doorway to Purgatory really was gone forever.

She took a long look around the boring sitting room and burst into tears.

"Jonesy?" Wybie said, kneeling down next to her. "Jonesy, what's wrong? It's over. It's all over, and we're okay..."

He fell into silence when his friend threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. The children sat like that for a while, before her sobs quietened. She wiped her eyes, but her tears continued to run.

Tears for the Other Coraline.

The little girl, whose humanity was used against her before she was left to die alone. No one deserved that fate.

Coraline and Wybie continued to hold each other, offering each other their unspoken support.

This was the sight that Mel and Charlie came home to after a day-long search in the woods.


	25. Chapter 24: New Day

**Chapter 24: New Day**

* * *

><p>Wyborne Lovat was the subject of much scrutiny over the next few days as his grandmother positively grilled him on his whereabouts on Sunday, as well as the Ashland police. Eventually, it went on record that the boy had gotten lost in the woods, but managed to find his way back to his grandmother's investment property, the Pink Palace, where he was found by his friend.<p>

The following day was Monday, and with it came school. Most children would have groaned with such a prospect, but for Wybie and Coraline, whose three days in the Other World felt like three years, nothing could be more welcome than a chance for normalcy.

At least, Wybie _had_ been excited, until about five minutes after he arrived at school.

"Hey, elf boy!" a nasty voice rang out across the yard as Wybie was chaining his motorcycle to the rack. "I heard you hid in the forest over the weekend?"

He looked over and his heart sank when he saw one of the larger boys in his year coming his way, flanked by two of his friends. However, before he got the chance to answer, his eyes widened in surprise when his blue-haired friend stepped forward, hands on her hips.

"Hey! It's Jerrold Rodgers, right?"

The larger boy also looked surprised at this firecracker of a schoolgirl confronting him. "Yeah? And you're that new girl... Caroline, isn't it?"

"It's _Cor_-aline," she replied. "And Wybie's told me all about _you_."

"Really?" the boy smirked. "Well, don't keep me in suspense! What've you heard?"

Just like Wybie, Coraline was several inches shorter than Jerrold. But that was not enough to make her back down. Heck, after towering Beldams and psychotic living dolls with knives, this guy was a kitten by comparison.

"I'm letting you know that, from now on, _I'm_ the only one who's allowed to pick on Wybie," she said.

Jerrold and his friends sniggered as he stepped forward menacingly toward the mop-haired boy in question. "Sure, whatever you say. Just get out my way – "

His next words were cut off in a pained gasp when Coraline's knee came up – right into his groin. All boys present, Wybie included, cringed.

"Come on, let's get to class," Coraline said to him, turning and leaving Jerrold in the dirt.

* * *

><p>The following week at school was a turbulent one for Wybie, who found himself labelled with such names as 'tree hugger', 'hippie' and 'runaway'.<p>

Kids really could be cruel.

However, throughout it all, Coraline Jones, the new girl at school, stuck up for him whenever she saw him being bullied.

Despite the trying time, Wybie found himself grateful for everything that had happened. He had been worried that, when Coraline made proper friends at her new school, she would forget all about him.

But she never did.

On the Friday after that fateful weekend, Wybie sat in the schoolyard at lunchtime staring at a tuna salad sandwich in his hand as his two nerdy friends rambled on about a game they had picked up over the weekend.

"It sucks that you went missing and couldn't play it with us," one of them was saying.

His reply froze in his throat when he noticed a flash of blue-hair crossing the yard toward him.

"Hey Wybie," Coraline said, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Uh, h-hey, Jonesy," he stammered back. Although, she had been sticking up for him for the past few days now, he was surprised that she was allowing herself to be seen with him at lunch. Was that not social suicide?

She turned and gestured to a familiar brunette girl standing next to her. "This is my friend, Miranda Fletcher."

The girl in question smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Wybie."

She was very familiar indeed, although instead of black buttons for eyes, the real Miranda had stunning cerulean ones.

"...Sooooo..." Coraline continued after an awkward silence, "I was wondering if you and your friends would like to join us for lunch?"

"Uh, sure!" he said, getting up and making introductions.

"So I heard that you went missing in the woods last weekend," Miranda said to Wybie as they all made their way over to her table.

"Y-Yeah..." he replied, groaning inwardly and waiting for the inevitable barrage of questions or mocking.

However, Miranda did none of those. Instead, she just smiled. "I'm glad that you're okay."

* * *

><p>The following day, it was a cool Saturday morning, and the sky above Ashland, Oregon, was a damp grey sponge as usual. Unbeknown to her parents, Coraline had snuck outside and to the edge of the woods. It was here that she dug a small hole and buried four buttons, two green and two blue, underneath a tree which she marked with two crosses.<p>

Two crosses for two missing children.

"Nice day, isn't it?"

The voice startled her, and she whirled to see an elderly woman standing nearby. "Oh, hello, Mrs Lovat," she replied. "But if this is what you call 'nice' weather, then I'd hate to see what you call bad."

The old woman laughed at that, before her expression became serious. "You know, Wyborne has had a couple of nightmares over the past week. I was hoping I could speak with you about it, if that's okay with you?"

Under the woman's withering stare, Coraline knew that she had no choice. She was no stranger to nightmares.

* * *

><p>Later on that morning, Coraline and Wybie sat around his kitchen table, sharing a pot of tea with his grandmother. She had been beside herself when Wybie had mysteriously appeared in the Jones' sitting room.<p>

She had her suspicions of what had really happened, of course. It was on this day that she finally managed to coax the truth from the children.

They had both been emotionally scarred by the incident; this much was certain. But they were alive and coping. That was what mattered.

"You know, when my sister went missing all those years ago, I had a lot of trouble accepting it," she said softly, her withered hands clasped around her steaming teacup as she directed her gaze at Wybie. "And when you disappeared that terrible night a few days ago, I..." She let out a sigh of disbelief. "I almost thought she had stolen someone from my life again. I'm not sure I would have been able to survive it this time."

Wybie opened his mouth to say something, but his grandmother cut him off as she turned toward Coraline.

"Thank you... for everything. If you hadn't gone in there... I can't even think about it."

The young girl blushed and looked away. Silence fell over the kitchen for a few moments, before a loud _MEOW_ could be heard outside the backdoor.

"Oh, that's the cat!" Wybie said, leaping up from the table and grabbing a saucer of milk from the counter. "I'll be right back!"

When he disappeared outside, Coraline noticed Mrs Lovat looking at her, a contemplative expression on her face. "...What is it?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.

The elderly woman started, before settling back into her chair. "I was just thinking about what you told me... When you found the key to the little door in the Other World..."

The young girl nodded, recalling the scene vividly: holding the brass key to the Beldam's workshop one minute, and then the black key to the small door the next. She unconsciously raised a hand and touched the spike pendant hanging from her necklace.

"I'm surprised you were able to do it. It was the Beldam's world, but you showed a great power there. You were able to manipulate and warp the fabric of Purgatory." Mrs Lovat's voice slowly became more unnerved as she continued. "I was just wondering... if, for a short time, you became a new Beldam..."

Coraline had known where the older woman was going with this, as it was something she had already given much thought to herself. In an effort of self-preservation, the Beldam's world had already chosen a successor.

But...

"_You are not defined by me, and I am not defined by you..."_

"I chose not to go down that road in the end," she replied, and nothing more was said on the matter. Although her guilt would always be with her, along with the haunting last look on the face of a living doll with bobbed blue hair...

* * *

><p>On the creaky back porch of the Lovat house, the scrawny black cat purred as Wybie scratched him behind the ears.<p>

"You know, Jonesy keeps insisting that you can talk, but how come you never spoke to _me_ in the Other World? Come to think of it, I never even _saw_ you there," he mused. "But either way, _apparently_ you helped her to help us to escape. So, just for that, you'll get an extra bowl of cream tonight!"

The feline blinked his huge blue eyes at the mop-headed boy.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head back inside before my tea gets cold," Wybie said, disappearing back into the house. "Come back later on for your reward!"

The cat huffed indignantly, as though he was offended. It appeared the boy could not see the wisdom that lay behind his eyes. He arched his back in a stretch, and then turned and trotted slowly toward the edge of the trees, where he paused.

He looked back toward the Pink Palace knowingly, and then walked into the woods and vanished.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTES:<p>

Holy geez. A short epilogue to go and this story is finally finished! It will officially be the first fanfiction story I have ever finished, and it will be _immensely_ satisfying to mark this as 'Complete'.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading the story as much as I did writing it. You guys are awesome, and all your support and kind words were, and always are, appreciated.

That said, my story for the _Coraline Chronicles_ is not over, which brings me to my next point: the sequel, which will be titled: _Lazarus Rising_. I am not sure when I will start writing it, as I need time to develop the plot. Check the _Coraline_ fanfic page often, or put me on your Author Alert if you want to read it. The story will once again deal with the world of the supernatural, although perhaps not in the way that you might expect.

If you have any questions, regarding this story, the sequel, or any of my other works, feel free to post them in a review, and I will respond as soon as I can.

Thanks again, and I'll see you in the epilogue.


	26. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

><p>Chicago, Illinois. The Windy City.<p>

The place had been abuzz for several weeks in the wake of a missing person's case that had captured the hearts of many.

The girl had been well-liked by her friends and all that knew her.

In a darkened apartment, a middle-aged woman sat at the kitchen table, staring down in silence at a framed photograph in her hand. It was of a young girl with braided hair, framing her pretty face.

The woman sighed as she closed her eyes. It had been nearly two weeks since her daughter had gone missing. What could have happened to her...?

Her self-torturing train of thought was broken by the shrill ring of the telephone. The woman groaned as she climbed to her feet and crossed the room to answer it.

Damned phone calls. Day in, day out, but still no news of her missing girl...

"Y-Yes?" she said into the mouthpiece.

_"Excuse me, miss?"_ said a girl's voice on the other line. _"I haven't caught you at a bad time, have I?"_

"No, no, it's... fine."

_"I heard about Emily. I just wanted to call and say I'm really sorry about what happened."_

Her mother smiled grimly. "Thank you... Are you one of her friends?"

_"You could say that..."_ the girl replied. _"I really wish that I could come and see you in person. But my parents wouldn't _dream_ of letting me fly out to Chicago in the middle of the school term…"_

At that moment, the woman screamed in fright when a figure materialised in the kitchen before her very eyes. She gasped in shock when she realised that she recognised the pale figure.

"E-Emily...?" she stammered.

The spirit smiled, and nodded silently.

"_I'm so sorry about what happened to your daughter,"_ the other girl's voice continued through the phone sadly. _"But I do hope that you can find some comfort and closure in the fact that her soul will be able to move on. It's the least I could do for her. She has just appeared before you to say goodbye."_

Emily's spirit smiled sadly, and then disappeared.

Her mother stared in a shocked silence for several moments as she let the words of Emily's friend sink in. "Who are you?" she finally said softly into the phone. "How do you know all this?"

"_That's why I'm calling. My name is Coraline Jones. I have something to tell you about your missing daughter."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>FIN.<strong>_


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